The Barton Community College baseball team opened up conference play Thursday, leaving Hutchinson's Hobart-Detter Field with a pair of wins as the Cougars came out on top on 4-3 and 3-2 scores over the Blue Dragons of Hutchinson Community College.
The tenth straight victory improves the Cougars to 15-2 on the season while the nationally receiving votes Blue Dragons slip to 13-4 on the season.
The teams resume their four-game set on Saturday, switching locations to the Cougars' home turf of Lawson-Biggs Field for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader.
Game One Recap
Managing a combined eleven hits in the seven inning opener, the first of three Hutchinson errors help set up the Cougars' first run as Noah Geekie reached to lead off the second inning before consecutive RBI doubles by Charlie Peyla and Nick Kemper put Barton out front.
Barton returned the favor in the home half of the third, as a leadoff single and RBI double were compounded by three Cougar errors allowing two more runs to cross.
Andrew Stewart provided the tying run in the fifth scoring Adam Schrag's one-out walk with Carson Pracht driving in the eventual game winner on a two-out single scoring Alex Rodgers after following Schrag with a four pitch walk.
Clay Wesbrooks kept the Blue Dragons in check in scattering five hits in the complete game, striking out three while walking none improving to 4-0 on the year.
Game Two Recap
Offense was again a premium as the wind howled in from left field with Barton leading the hits 6-3 with Graham Brunner improving to 3-0 behind seven strong innings of ten strikeouts and two hits allowing just one earned run.
Stewart's drawing a walk with the bases loaded in the second frame provided the Cougars' first run then scored in the fifth on Geekie beating out a safety bunt after having led off the inning with a single.
Brunner's lone blemish came in his final seventh inning with a one-out Hutchinson double moving to third on a passed ball before scoring on a balk.
Rodgers connected on the day's lone home run to answer the Blue Dragon run in the ensuing eighth inning, driving a 2-1 pitch out to right field for his fourth of the season.
Hutchinson cut the margin back to one in the home half of the inning getting a leadoff single on reliever Joe Richter before a one-out single brought the score to 3-2. Following another walk, Jordan Ellison extinguished the fire stranding the pair of runners.
Barton threatened to increase their lead in the ninth but instead stranded Chandler Bloomer's leadoff double and Geekie's one-out single.
Ellison nailed down the ninth, stranding a two-out walk to earn his second save of the year working the final 1.2 innings and striking out three.