Last season the mid-week matchup with Hesston College left the Cougars scratching their heads after taking an eleven run beating from the Larks. Tuesday night at Lawson-Biggs Field the Barton Community College baseball team flipped the script revenging the loss with a 14-2 seven inning shortened victory. Scoring in all but one of their six innings, the 19-11 Cougars blew the game open with a four run fourth putting the final dagger in with twin three run innings in the final two frames dropping Hesston to 10-20 on the season. The Cougars return to conference action this weekend hosting Garden City Community College in a four-game series with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch slated for both Saturday and Sunday's doubleheader.
The middle part of the Barton lineup blistered the Lark pitching staff accounting for twelve of the Cougars' thirteen hits while driving in twelve of the runs. Leading the way with three hits was the 3-of-5 performance from Corrigan Bartlett and the 3-for-3 night from Matthew Baca including four runs batted in. Batting out of the cleanup spot Cole Henley's .500 night drove in a team high five runs while Bartlett drove in two more.
Before winning hurler Daniel Kohl could setting in on the hill, a leadoff triple by the Larks' Alex Perez followed by a single from Jake Shelby gave Hesston the early lead. Kohl battled back inducing a foul out behind the third base bag before sending the next two Larks back to the dugout looking at third strike pitches.
Having Kohl's back in the home half, leadoff batter Drake Bliss earned the first of his two walks on the night being joined on the base paths one out and a stolen base later on full-count base on balls to Dayton Pomeroy. After a wild pitch advanced the pair ninety feet, Henley drove a single to the grass putting Barton ahead for good.
Kohl was hit on again in the second but the Overland Park freshman pitched out of a one-out bases loaded jam protecting the lead. Kohl wrapped up his three innings of work stranding a two out hit batsman finishing the game with five strikeouts in keeping his campaign unblemished at 2-0.
Stranding two runners in the second, the Cougars rallied with two outs in the home half of third scoring on a Hesston error followed by a Baca double to left.
Barton returned the favor in the fourth following a one-out single an outfield error put a runner in scoring position for a two-out single up the middle cut the Hesston deficit to 4-2.
The Cougars answered the call in the home half getting an RBI single from three-hole hitter Pomeroy, capitalizing on the Larks' second error of the game, before a Baca single plated two more.
Two three-run innings in the fifth and sixth put the game away for the eventual run-rule victory. Henley drove in two in the fifth and one in the sixth while a Baca sac fly closed out the fifth and Bartlett's sixth inning single put the final two nails in the coffin.
Alone atop the conference standings before a four-game slide last weekend in Dodge City, the 8-4 fifth place Cougars look to get back to the winning side of the upcoming series trailing the 11-5 third place Broncbusters.