The Barton Community College baseball team had its seven game win streak snapped Tuesday afternoon at Lawson-Biggs Field as Division II No. 12 North Iowa Area Community College held on for a 9-6 victory. Playing fourteen players in the contest, the Cougars sent six more to the mound combining for seventeen strikeouts with eleven coming in the final five innings. Despite the shutdown of the Trojan offense, North Iowa did all its damage in two just two innings, getting two in the third before a seven run fourth inning dug Barton a mountain to climb. Dropping to 18-4 on the season, Barton will turn its attention back to conference play as Dodge City Community College comes to Great Bend for a four game set with 1:00 p.m. doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. North Iowa improves to 9-5 on the year, continuing its road swing with a Wednesday 3:00 p.m. contest at Hutchinson Community College.
Bryce Ball gave North Iowa the early lead driving home the consecutive walks by Matt Schwarz and Joey Werner with a double to the left center wall on Brant Millerborg's 1-0 pitch.
As the Cougars could only muster a Brady Michel single in the first and Brett Bonar's leadoff walk in the second, the Trojans broke the game open in the fourth inning sending thirteen batters to the plate scoring seven runs. Nate VanKan and Joey Werner each had RBI singles with the big blow coming on Fox Leum's drive to center for a bases clearing double.
Despite trailing by nine, the momentum started to shift to the Cougars side of the diamond beginning with Dawson Pomeroy taking the mound in the fifth as the freshman struck out two in the inning. Michael Sinks followed in the home half lacing a triple down the right field line driving in Derek Johnson for Barton's first run, scoring on a Trojan error from Brady Michel's ground ball one batter later. Carson Engroff would then get his lone hit of the afternoon driving in his sixth of the season with a line drive to center cutting the deficit to six.
Pomeroy struck out the side in the sixth and stranded a runner in the seventh keeping the Trojans in check and giving the Cougars a shot at a comeback. Stranding a runner in the sixth, Barton took advantage of two Trojan walks to Drake Bliss and Engroff as Jared Maneth drove in his sixth of the season.
Like Pomeroy, Taylor Langston began his first inning of work sending the Trojans down in order on strikeouts but the Cougars were unable to slice into the deficit in the home half stranding the bases loaded on consecutive hit by pitches and a two-out walk.
Langston closed out the ninth with three more straight punch outs throwing just twenty-five pitches to send down his six batters faced.
Things looked bleak for a ninth inning rally despite Maneth being plunked by a one-out pitch but was still on first as Barton was down to their final out. Head Coach Brent Biggs went to the bench bringing in regular starting first baseman Trey Pittman and the Mississippi sophomore delivered, sending his eighteenth RBI of the season home with a single to right. Brett Huelsmann, who came in to begin the fifth inning, picked up his first collegiate hit as the Wichita freshman sent a shot to left field keeping the inning alive. Coach Biggs then made another move to the bench, bringing out Kaden Fowler. Swinging on the first pitch, Fowler's pop-up to short center found the grass as the Towanda freshman hustled out the RBI double. With the tying run coming to the plate, it was the Trojan's skipper making the next move brining in closer Chase Stewart as the Canadian freshman induced a Sinks infield pop-up to earn his third save of the season and snap the Cougars' win streak.
Brandon Williamson picked up his second victory without a defeat holding Barton to four hits through five innings, walking two but striking out six as Millerborg took the loss coming in his third inning of work.