The Barton Community College baseball team concluded their four-game series in El Dorado with a split Sunday at Butler Community College. The Cougars built a four run lead but needed a seventh inning run to win game one 7-6 but a six-run Butler third inning in the nightcap led a to seven inning shortened game 10-0 loss. On Saturday, the Cougars dropped the first game scheduled for seven innings as Butler came through with a walk-off double in the eighth inning to win 2-1 as each team could only muster three hits apiece. In game two the Grizzlies came out on the top end of a 3-2 victory as the Cougars stranded eight on base. The series leaves Barton at 5-5 in the Jayhawk West and 10-11 on the season while Butler remains atop the standings at 6-2 and 14-8 overall.
Due to weather postponements, the Cougars next action will come Wednesday as Barton heads back to Colby Community College as the teams will conclude their four-game series in a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader. Barton took the first two games of the series last Wednesday knocking off the Trojans 3-1 and 9-4.
Barton got walks from Jacob Richardson and Grant Watkins to set up Lance White's RBI single to right giving the Cougars a one-run lead in the first inning of Sunday's game one. Richardson again set up the Cougars in the third leading off the third with a triple as Watkins followed one-out later with an RBI groundout on a high chopper up the middle. White followed with a double to left field and Bryce Minor gave the Cougars a four-run cushion with his second home run of the season with a blast over the center field fence.
Like Alexander Evans on Saturday, Jordan Plank was solid on the mound striking out five through the first two innings but ran into trouble in the third. Surrendering consecutive one-out walks, Butler's Ty Redington loaded the bases as his sacrifice bunt down the third base line literally came to rest on the line. A passed ball later scoring the Grizzlies first run a sacrifice fly scored the next, and an errant throw into third trying to pick off Redington stealing third base allowed Butler's third run to close the gap to one.
The Cougars pushed the lead back out to two the next inning as Josh Farrington followed Trevor Hughes' one-out single with a blast to left center, similar to Minor's for his second homerun of the season as well.
Following a leadoff single to open up the home half of the fifth, Plank was replaced by Jackson Rose who was seeing his second action in as many days after pitching 1.1 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. Rose was greeted with a fielder's choice then got the second out with a pop up to the mound but a single by Cory Slater plated one in drawing Butler back to within two.
Stranding nine runners in the game, Barton couldn't convert in the sixth as the Cougars loaded the bases with Farrington and Watkins drawing walks sandwiching Richardson reaching on an error.
The Grizzlies carried the defensive momentum to the home half as Cameron Knight led off the inning scoring on an infield error two batters later. A single and fielder's choice later, Butler tied the game on the second Barton error of the inning.
Tyler Jennings led off the seventh moving over to third as Butler's second error of the game put Jennings on third with one out. Hughes made the Grizzlies pay for the miscue lifting a fly to left allowing Jennings to tag and score the winning run.
Shane Adams pitched the final inning getting a ground ball to erase a leadoff walk then striking out the last batter to earn his second save of the season and giving Rose his first win of the season.
White and Minor each had a 2-for-4 game leading Barton to an 8-7 hit advantage.
Two singles began Butler's first at-bat in game two as the Grizzlies came out aggressive. Redington led off with a single, stole second, and then was waved home on Jake Huscroft's single up the middle.
Butler would bat around in the third benefitting from two walks, four singles, and a double jumping out to the seven run lead to end the day of starter Cody Brewer.
Two Trevor Turner singles and an Evan McDonald walk was all Barton could muster in the next four innings as Hayden Crowe shut the Cougars.
The Grizzlies ended the game by run rule in the seventh getting a leadoff single, one-out triple and followed by a single, then the dagger coming with a two-out single to right field.
Brewer took the loss dropping to 2-3 on the season giving up seven runs on seven hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Kade Parker pitched 3.1 surrendering two runs on five hits with one strikeout. Mitch Malherbe pitched the final third allowing one run on one walk and two hits.