Story By: Alex Hammeke
The Barton Community College Baseball team finished out their scheduled non-conference slate with a series sweep against the Sterling College JV squad, run ruling the Warriors 12-2 in game one, while fighting back in the early innings to claim a 13-6 victory in game two.
Barton connected on four home runs in the twinbill, scoring in every inning as the Cougars improved to 12-1 on the year extending the win streak to eight straight. Barton shifts their sights to league play with the conference opener Thursday at Hutchinson Community College. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Hobart-Detter Field.
Offensively Connor Scott paced the Cougars driving in a team high five runs on a 3-fo-6 day. Sophomore Micah Grover pieced together a .714 batting average in the pair of games finishing 5-for-7 at the dish including a pair of doubles.
Game One Recap:
Barton starter Zach Thornton set the defensive tone for the Cougars early, sending Sterling down in order in his two frames of work while seizing four strikeouts. The freshman from Lawrence, KS notched his second victory of the season.
Barton would build a 7-0 run in the bottom two frames. Carson Pracht stared the slugfest for the Cougars hustling out a double to right before scoring on a pass ball giving Barton an early 1-0 edge. Three batters later, Scott would hit the first of four Cougar round trippers on the afternoon, when his left field bomb brought home Grover and Connor Allen. The scoring stretched into the second inning, when three straight doubles from Grover, Jordan Ellison, and Allen accounted for three more Cougar runs.
Sterling broke into the scoring column for the first time in the top of the third, as Austin Arbogast took advantage of the gusty wind blowing out to left with a solo shot. Barton plated the answering run in the home half as an RBI fielder's choice by Joel Nieves grew the lead back to seven at 8-1.
The Cougars pitching remained dominate on the bump in the fourth tossing another donut. Pracht stretched the Barton lead to nine with his first long fly of the season over the Lawson-Biggs scoreboard. Two batters later, Ellison sent a missile over the center field wall rising the Cougar scoring to double-digits.
Sterling recorded their final run in the fifth before Barton accounted for the final two runs with RBI's from Tanner Schrag and Grover closing out the 12-2 victory.
Game Two Recap:
Looking for a change of pace in the back half of the twinbill, Sterling opened the game aggressively, placing pressure on Barton with runners at first and second till' starter Austin Gerety sent a pair of Warriors packing ending the Warriors threat.
Capitalizing off the momentum from the top of the first Grover got things rolling for the Cougars driving home Pracht before crossing home on a Scott RBI single capping the two run first.
Playing scrappy in the nightcap, Sterling made the most of a 2-out dropped third strike loading the bases. A bases loaded walk trimmed the Cougar lead to one until a Will Lutz grand slam capped a five run rally handing the Warriors the 5-2 advantage.
Trailing for just the second time in as many innings freshman Alex Rodgers pulled Barton to within one following a 3-RBI triple. One batter later Pracht knotted the contest up at 5-5 with an RBI single swinging all momentum to the Cougar dugout.
Barton's Carson Shively surged Barton to the lead connecting on his first big fly of the year driving in two.
One final two-out rally capped the Sterling scoring on a RBI Shawnn Adams double pulling the Warriors to within 7-6, the closest they'd get over the final two innings. Back-to-back two-out triples stretched the lead out to three of 9-6.
The Cougars pitching staff locked down over the final three innings allowing two Warrior hits including three punch-outs.
Barton's final margin of victory grew to 13-6 accounting for four runs in the final two innings highlighted by a Rodgers sac-fly, Caden Bressler 2-RBI double and Jace Stewart RBI fielder's choice.