The Barton Community College baseball team protected its' home turf opening its' four game weekend set against Butler Community College with a pair of walk-offs, sweeping Thursday's home doubleheader.
The Cougars rode a walk-off Ricardo Sanchez RBI single in the home half of the seventh claiming the opener 2-1 while stringing together 12 runs on 15 hits in the nightcap earning an eight-inning run rule triumph in the nightcap.
Running their winning streak to five straight, Barton improves their Jayhawk West mark to 8-2 and season record to 16-7 while the Grizzlies fall to 5-5 in league play and 14-8 overall as the series shifts locations to McDonald Stadium on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader in El Dorado, KS.
Game 1 Recap
Offense was at a minimum in the opener as both starters were engaged in a pitching duel allowing just one run through six and a third innings.
Cougar starter, Zach Thornton improved to 4-0 on the season tossing all seven allowing just one run on two hits, walking a pair and fanning nine Grizzlies in the winning effort.
Thornton's lone blemish came in the third inning as a Jackson Syring RBI groundout produced the lone Butler run following a leadoff Jaren Jackson walk, Zach Stroh single to left and passed ball moving the runners up 90-feet.
Alex Rodgers two-out walk in the home half provided the eventual equalizer as a Grizzlies miscue on a Sanchez' pop-up brought home Rodgers from first.
Hitless through the opening three innings, Connor Allen produced the first Cougar hit of the afternoon succeeding a leadoff Dryden Howse walk but the pair would be stranded as a foul out bunt single and back-to-back strikeouts halted the threat in the fourth.
Remaining in a deadlock over the next two innings, Butler placed the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh as a Josh Holmes leadoff bunt single and steal with one-out would be stranded as the lefty on the bump from Lawrence, KS locked down striking out one looking and inducing a groundout halting the Grizzlies threat.
In the home seventh, a leadoff Jace Stewart walk followed by a Rodgers sacrifice bunt had the Cougars cooking with the two-time reigning KJCCC player of the week at the plate lacing a game-winning RBI single through the left side plating Stewart in walk-off fashion while extending his hitting streak to four straight games.
Sanchez, Allen, Jaden Wiley and Shawn Marquis accounted for the four Barton knocks.
Game 2 Recap
The Barton bats awoke in the nightcap lacing 16 hits with seven of the nine Cougar batters turning in two-hit performances.
Barton opened the scoring in the home half of the first plating a pair succeeding a Rodgers leadoff double, Sanchez groundout and Butler miscue fashioned the first marker on the scoreboard with a Dryden Howse RBI groundout one batter later capping the 2-0 start.
The Cougars mended their second crooked number in the bottom of the second piling up a four spot with Marquis and Colter Maldonado igniting the start with back-to-back leadoff knocks on a single and double. Stewart tacked on the third straight hit driving in the pair with a single through the right side. Sanchez fashioned the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to right before Wiley capped the inning with a triple to center, scoring on a wild pitch just three pitches later.
Scoreless over the next two frames, Barton crossed for a pair more in the fifth as Marquis and Maldonado conveyed with a sacrifice fly and RBI single extending the advantage to 8-0.
Starting hurler Tegan Cain faced his lone trouble in the top of the sixth permitting a one-out walk to Bryce Zimmerer with a stolen base and wild pitch moving Zimmerer 90-feet from home. One pitch later Butler struck through on the scoreboard as Sam Siegel's RBI single to left concluded the freshman's day on the bump.
The Grizzlies cashed for their final run as a leadoff three base error followed up by a Zimmerer RBI groundout trimmed the Barton lead to 8-2.
Barton put the game on ice as singles by Rodgers and Sanchez opened the start to a four run eighth. Wiley collected his first run producer with a single through the left side with Henry Hayman driving the pair in one pitch later doubling to center. Succeeding a Howse intentional walk with none away, Allen laced the first pitch he saw up the middle producing the game clinching RBI coating the 12-2 victory.
Cain collected his first collegiate victory making just his second start of the season moving to 1-0 on the year tossing 5.2-innings along one run, scattering three hits issuing two walks and striking out six Grizzlies.
David Stuart tossed 1.1-innings in relief allowing just one hit and striking out a pair before giving way to Brian Bartels in the eighth as the freshman worked an inning surrendering one unearned run in his five batters faced.
As a pitching staff, four Cougars held the Butler bats in check allowing just six hits over the 15-innings.
Stewart and Hayman paced the Barton bats each knocking in a pair while Hayman along with Rodgers, Sanchez, Wiley, Allen, Marquis and Maldonado each turned in a pair of hits in the nightcap.