The Barton Community College baseball team suffered its first conference losses of the season Friday as Dodge City Community College took the doubleheader 4-3 and 12-4. The Cougars led throughout the opener but Dodge City crept back into it late getting two runs in the seventh including a safety squeeze play completing the comeback. Carrying the momentum into the nightcap, the Conquistadors plated six in the second inning proving to be the difference. Despite outhitting the Conquistadors in each of the games, Barton had its eight game conference win streak snapped dropping to 8-2 in the Jayhawk and 18-9 overall while Dodge City improves to 9-5 in the conference and 21-8 on the season. The teams will wrap up the four-game set on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at Cavalier Field.
Mason Hightower's third inning leadoff single didn't last long as three pitches later Ryan Schippers connected on his first of two hits in the opener with a line drive triple to right field. Two batters later Michael Sinks drove a 3-0 pitch to left field staking the Cougars to an early two run lead. Dayton Pomeroy led the Cougars going 3-of-3 from the plate, including a fifth inning double pushing Barton's lead out to three.
A two-base outfield error to lead off the home half of the fifth led to the Conqs' first run scoring one-out later on a single.
Stranding a Cole Henley one-out triple leading to a quick sixth inning, Garret Rogers returned to the hill having limited the Conq bats to just three hits. Following a leadoff double, Rogers struck out the next two batters but couldn't close the door on the third as Colton Onstott sent a 1-2 pitch to left cutting the deficit to one heading into the final inning.
The Cougars weren't able to get the valuable insurance run in the seventh turning the ball over to Taylor Langston to close out the game. Falling behind to Jake Pederson 3-0, the light was green on the fourth pitch as Pederson sent the pitch over the right field wall for his second of the season tying the game at three. Losing the next batter to a walk, a ground out followed by a single put Conqs on the corners with one-out.
The Conqs' Max Laney next laid down a bunt on the first base side sending pinch runner Cory Royer sprinting towards home. Langston came flying off the mound making a diving play to his left to stop the ball, spun around and from the ground fired to the plate. The throw was perfect but unfortunately for Barton, Royer's slide popped the ball loose from Hightower's catcher's mitt sending Barton to its first conference defeat while dropping Langston to 3-2 on the year.
Ryan McClure connected on the Cougars' third triple of the day leading off the second inning of game two scoring on Corrigan Bartlett's ground out to the right side.
The Barton lead was short lived going into the home half as the Conqs got to starter Austin Taylor with four hits which included three extra base hits, two walks, and taking advantage of an infield error leading to a six run inning. The Conq outburst coupled with a leadoff walk the following inning would chase Taylor from the game dropping the lefthander to 2-2 on the season.
Drake Bliss cut the Dodge City lead to four in the next half inning driving home Alan Clark who led off the inning with a single.
Dodge City would answer with a single run powered by Frankie Valle's second double of the game then add three more in the fourth extending the lead to 10-3.
McClure would drive in the final two Barton runs getting one in the sixth driving home Pomeroy's leadoff double followed by a sac fly in the seventh with the bases loaded. Getting a Bliss double to leadoff the seventh followed by a Sinks single and a Pomeroy walk, the Cougars' hopes for a rally were diminished as McClure's sac fly for the first out of the inning was all Barton could produce.