The Barton Community College baseball team pounded out 32 runs on 32 hits in Saturday afternoons home opener, sweeping its' doubleheader over Western Nebraska Community College by scores of 21-6 and 11-6.
The victories improve the Cougars to 4-1 in the early season while the Western Nebraska Cougars slide to 1-6 on the season. Barton will look to claim the four-game series tomorrow afternoon with another 1:00 p.m. twinbill from Lawson-Biggs Field.
Sophomore Ricardo Sanchez led the Barton bats turning in a 6-for-7 day at the plate hitting his first long ball of the season, legging out two doubles and driving in nine runs in the pair of games. Quinton Robertson knocked in four runs on the afternoon going 4-for-7 with two doubles and a triple.
Game 1 Recap
Barton scored in all four turns at the plate with eight of the nine in the lineup driving in a pair of RBIs in the runaway 21-6 victory.
Robertson's first collegiate triple highlighted a string of three straight two-out hits producing a three run first inning. Following a Western Nebraska home run by Bryce Peterson, the Cougars answered the call in the home second exploding for nine runs.
Barton sent 14 batters to the plate in the second inning, producing eight of its games 17 hits in the frame.
Seven different Cougars had multi-hit games as Barton racked up a total of five extra base hits.
Sanchez went 2-for-2 with four RBIs to lead the Barton offense. He drove in two in the second inning before adding his other pair of RBIs on a single in the bottom of the third.
Dryden Howse turned in his fifth career three-hit day as a Cougar, going 3-for-4 with a trio of singles, two runs scored and three RBIs.
Robertson had his first career three RBI game.
Starter Owen Reynolds notched his first victory of the season. The sophomore allowed six runs scattering five hits, walking three and striking out six.
Ivan Cox threw two shutout innings from the bullpen allowing just two hits, one walk and fanning a pair of Cougars.
Game 2 Recap
Barton's offense remained contagious in the nightcap tallying 15 hits off a trio of Western Nebraska pitchers. The Cougars scored two runs in the first, four in the third, one in the fourth and sixth, two in the seventh and one final marker in the eighth.
Sanchez was 4-for-5 with a home run, double, two runs scored and five RBIs to pace the Barton bats.
Riley Silva was 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
Ayden Hadley was 2-for-4 while producing his first collegiate two-RBI game.
Robertson concluded the multi-hit performances with a 2-for-4 game legging out a double, scoring a run and driving in a run.
David Stuart improved his early season record to 2-0 with six strong innings. The sophomore allowed three hits and one run while tying his career high in strikeouts with eight while walking a pair.
Jordan Bedell worked an inning allowing a run in relief.
Kade Walker worked 1.1-innings surrendering four hits, three earned runs while striking out a trio of Cougars and walking one.
Colton Wahlstrom made his second appearance of the year working a scoreless final inning issuing one walk and recording a strikeout.