After taking two of three at KCK this past weekend, the Barton Community College baseball team returned home continuing their home dominance with an opening 12-0 route, before relying on the middle innings in game two, 6-4, earning a doubleheader sweep over the Tabor College Junior Varsity Bluejays.
The victories improve the Cougars mark to 8-1 on the season. Barton will get a day off before participate in a home triangular at Lawson-Biggs Field on Wednesday, taking on McCook at 12:00 p.m., followed by Northeast (Iowa) at 5:00 p.m.
Game One Recap
The Barton pitching corps of Matt Nedved, Will Hann and Jordan Ellison held Tabor JV to only two hits, while only walking one Blue Jay and striking out four.
Sending Tabor down in order to start the contest, Barton would rapidly grab a 3-0 lead after the first inning. Ellison's single would plate Carson Pracht for the opening run. Just two plays later Connor Scott capped the three-run inning driving home Ellison and Connor Allen on a double to left.
Barton would start the second inning giving up a Joseph Moreno double, but the sturdy Cougars pitching would clamp down and strand Moreno at third to end the half-inning. Barton would tally one run to the margin in the bottom of the second, when Colter Maldonado would cross home on a pass ball.
Sent down in order once more to open the third, Barton tallied another crooked spot on the score adding three more in the home half extending lead to seven. An RBI Maldonado double to left brought in Allen before a Blue Jay fielding error scored Maldonado. Alex Rodgers inked his name in the RBI column with a line drive to the left field corner scoring Jace Stewart.
Barton would send Tabor down in order for the third straight inning, before the scoring party would start for the Cougars. Barton would load the bases with no outs with Micah Grover coming home on a wild pitch crossing for the first of five runs in the frame. Maldonado accounted for his third hit and second and third RBI's of the contest with an infield single. Stewart added another Cougar run with an opposite field double until a Rodgers sac-fly capped the games scoring.
The Blue Jays would put their first runner in scoring position in the top of the fifth following a leadoff walk and 1-out single nevertheless Ellison would lock down getting a fly out and ground out to end the contest in run rule fashion
Three Cougars finished with multi-RBI performances as Maldonado led the charge with three as Scott and Rodgers drove in two apiece.
Starting hurler Matt Nedved was dominating on the mound tossing three innings allowing one hit while sending two Blue Jays packing.
Game Two Recap
In game two the Cougars found themselves in a different spot than the opener as a leadoff triple from Tabor's Nick Patrick generated Tanner Shalkoski's RBI groundout giving the Blue Jay's their first and lone lead of the day.
Held hitless through the opening two frames, freshman Carson Shively provided the first Barton baserunner drawing a 1-out walk. Two batters later, the Cougars would grasp the lead on a rare inside-the-park homerun by Rodgers. Barton would not be done as freshman Caden Bressler capped the four-run two out rally with a 2-RBI single.
Tabor would not fold in the top of the fourth loading the bases with no-outs succeeding a pair of walks and single. Back-to-back RBI singles from Ben Johnsen and Aaron Shellenberger cut the Barton lead to one, 4-3.
An almost carbon copy of the visitors fourth had Barton in great shape as Joel Nieves beat out a bunt single loading the bases with no outs succeeding back-to-back walks to Jackson Hartley and Shively. The Cougars benefitted of its' opportunity plating two following a Pracht RBI walk and Bressler RBI hit-by-pitch stretching the lead back to 6-3.
Tabor squeezed for one more run on the day, as the lone fielding error trimmed the Cougar lead to the final margin of 6-4.
Barton received solid relief pitching in the winning effort as Carson Cornelius and Peyton Tinkler combined tossing two-shutout innings allowing no hits.
Tinkler closed the door earning his first save of the season while starter Garrett Hissong notched his first collegiate win tossing 3.0-innings allowing just one run on one hit, fanning four Blue Jays.
Bressler led the Cougar bats tallying four runs-batted-in going 1-for-2 in the winning effort.