Cougars split conference games with Hutch
The Barton County Community College baseball team split a pair of Jayhawk West games with Hutchinson Sunday at Lawson-Biggs Field in Great Bend. The Cougars rallied to win the opener with big innings in the 5th and 6th for a 9-5 win. Barton lost the nightcap on the strength on a big 4th inning by a 6-2 count. The split keeps Barton even in the West with a 4-4 mark while the Cougars are now 17-14 overall. Hutchinson is 7-5 in the West and 18-11 overall this year. It was the 1st time Barton had played 10 days, losing 3 doubleheaders to rain over that span. Barton will have make-up dates at Garden, at home against Cloud and at Seward due to the wet weather. The next action for Barton is Tuesday when Brown Mackie comes to Lawson-Biggs for a single 9-inning contest starting at 6 pm. Barton will be home for a twinbill Wednesday, hosting Dodge in West play.
Highlights
Barton fell behind 4-0 in the top of the 1st inning and spent most of the contest in pursuit of the Blue Dragons. Single runs in the 1st and 2nd inning kept the contest close for the Cougars as
David Wilson grounded in Austin Holt in the 1st and Tyler Metcalf drove in Mitch Cooper in the 2nd. The Cougars trailed 5-2 heading into the 5th inning when the bats awoke.
Tyler Rzepka started the inning with a double to center but was later picked off 3rd and it looked like the rally was cut short with 2 outs and the bases empty. But Holt kept things going with a 2-out walk and Anthony Dreiling put some life in the Cougars by ripping double to right center scoring Holt. An error by the Hutch shortstop kept the inning going and scored Dreiling to make it 5-4. Barton tied the game when Wilson doubled down the left field line to score Kenny Burkhead, who has reached on the error.
Barton took a commanding lead in the 6th with 4 more runs to take a 9-5 lead to the 7th. Cooper started things with a left center followed by a single from Metcalf to give Barton a pair of base runners with no outs. After a pitching change, Rzepka gave the Cougars the lead with a single scoring Cooper. A sacrifice bunt by Marc Albers moved the runners up a base and Holt tripled them in to give Barton an 8-5 lead. Holt later scored on a Dreiling sac fly to make it 9-5. Ryan Sheldon picked up the win in relief, tossing 3 scoreless innings and allowing just 2 hits.
Barton led by a slim 1-0 margin for the 1st 3 innings of the nightcap as Dreiling singled the scored on an errant pick off throw all the way from 1st. That would prove to be the offense for the Cougars, though. Hutch exploded for 4 runs in the 4th and rode that to a 6-1 win as Barton collected just 3 hits off Logan Hoch.
Stats
Stats can be found at www.bartonccc.edu/sports
Next
April 3 – v Brown Mackie, 6 pm (Single, 9-inning contest at Lawson-Biggs field in Great Bend)