The Barton Community College baseball team spotted Rose State College six runs through the first three innings Sunday in Midwest City but came up short in the comeback dropping the rubber match 8-5. The 4-3 Cougars will next turn their attention to their home opener at Lawson-Biggs Field, a four-game set this weekend against Western Nebraska Community College. Saturday and Sunday doubleheader action begins with 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
Two home runs off first pitch strikes put the Cougars and hurler Jarrett Seaton in a three-run first inning hole. A leadoff double in the Raiders' second inning of at-bats followed by the first of four Barton errors in the contest pushed the lead to four. Rose State would tack on two more in the third frame as a leadoff reach by error would be compounded one out later by Austin Weeks' second blast chasing Seaton from the game with the Cougars trailing 6-0.
With Zach Curry coming in to slow down the Raider attack for the next 3.2 innings allowing just one hit and five strikeouts, the Cougar offense started to get on track in doubling up their hit count from Saturday's doubleheader in compiling eleven.
Leadoff batter Brett Erickson and two-hole hitter Kaden Fowler combined for five of the eleven hits, getting back-to-back singles to follow Casey Wulfkuhle' fifth inning leadoff walk to break the goose egg on the visitor's side of the scoreboard.
Fowler's one-out single for his third hit of the contest kick-started the Cougars' four run seventh inning with Nolan Riley keeping the inning alive drawing a walk as Brett Bonar came thru on the first pitch he saw to join the multi-hit club lacing a double to center to drive in the two runs. Paul Claassen drew the full-count walk to continue the inning as Barton took advance of Rose State's lone error to plate one before Trenton Ferguson drove in the final Cougars' run with a single up the middle.
The Cougars threatened again in the eighth with another two-out rally, getting Fowler and Jared Maneth singles followed by a Riley hit by pitch but stranded the bases juiced as Raiders' Josh Cordell induced Bonar into an infield pop-up.
Rose State put the final touches on the victory in the home half launching their fourth home run of the game then sent the Cougars down in order in the ninth to win the series finale.