The Barton Community College baseball team completed its second straight conference sweep on Sunday taking the remaining pair of games at Colby Community College. The Cougars jumped out to eight run lead through the first three innings to take the seven inning contest 10-6 before erasing a two run deficit getting a four-hit combined pitching performance for a 6-3 series clincher. The sweep over the weekend leap frogged the Cougars over the Trojans in the conference standings as Barton's eleventh straight win puts them alone in second place in the West standings at 19-9 while improving to 38-13 on the season. Colby drops back to the fourth slot in the standings at 17-11 and 26-20 overall. Barton's next action comes Wednesday as the Cougars travel to the equally red-hot and winners of twelve straight Hutchinson Community College for a non-conference 5:00 p.m. nine inning affair before wrapping up the regular season this weekend hosting Cloud County Community College.
Cole Henley, who blasted two home runs while missing another in Saturday's opener, led the Cougars on Sunday going 4-of-7 from the plate. Michael Sinks, who set the Barton all-time hits record on Saturday, continued his torrid play to the season going 3-for-7 out of the leadoff position including drawing three walks on the day.
Barton broke open the first game with a five run second inning getting five consecutive singles with a Brett Bonar sac bunt mixed in and a Colby error capping off the inning. Two more consecutive singles opened up the third with Corrigan Bartlett driving in one with a sac fly before Dawson Pomeroy's two RBI triple to left gave Barton a 9-1 lead.
Jarrett Seaton worked the first 5.2 innings to pick up the win with Brant Millerborg working the final third of the sixth inning to put an end to Colby's three run rally. Taylor Langston, who along with Sinks and Henley had multi-hit games, moved to the mound from right field pitching a perfect seventh inning to seal the win as Seaton improved to 9-1 on the season.
Colby jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Andrew Repp and the Cougars as a walk and single were compounded with an error before the inning ended with the second run controversially crossing the plate on a fly out-left early double play.
Henley got the run back for the Cougars in the second leading off the second with a hit by pitch before getting to third on an errant pick-off play, scoring on Langston's ground out. Pomeroy led off the third with a single and after stealing second, advanced to third on a passed by with Trey Pittman delivering the tying RBI with a single to center.
With Repp keeping control of the Trojan opportunities, Barton moved ahead for good in the fourth as Alan Clark was put on the base paths with a hit by pitch before stealing one of his four bases on the day then scoring on a Colby error.
Clark would drive in two of the Cougars' three runs in the fifth to build a four run cushion with Pomeroy nailing down the final 4.1 innings to pick up the win improving to 3-0.