The Barton Community College baseball team rode a pair of solid starting pitching performances Sunday afternoon sweeping its' triangular in Enid, Oklahoma. In the opener, Tegan Cain struck out a career high nine notching his first victory of the season in the 7-2 victory over Des Moines Area Community College. Reece Hemmerling followed suit in the nightcap tossing four strong innings to earn his second win of the year defeating host Northern Oklahoma College Enid 5-1 in the weekend finale.
Sweeping its' four game two day stop in Oklahoma, the Cougars improve to 10-1 on the season while the Bears of DMACC drop to 7-5 on the year and Jets of NOC-Enid dip to 5-9 overall.
Winners of eight straight, Barton will return to Lawson-Biggs Field Wednesday afternoon for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader against the junior varsity squad of Kansas Wesleyan University before heading back out on the road for a three-game set at Kansas City Kansas Community College Friday and Saturday.
Game 1 Recap
The Cougars would capitalize behind a leadoff dropped third strike and four first inning singles jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first turn. Barton's runs would come on a Ricardo Sanchez RBI groundout, Jaden Wiley RBI hit and Dryden Howse producing the fourth single of the inning bringing home one with two-outs.
The Bears cut into the lead in the home half of the second as a one-out solo home run to left made it 3-1.
In the third, a two-out walk drawn by Ayden Blachowicz and DMACC error granting Jaron Cotton to reach base would prolong the inning adding one to the Barton lead with a passed ball scoring Blachowicz.
A trio of singles in the top of the fifth extended the Barton lead out to 6-1. Sanchez lone hit of the contest brought around Silva's leadoff single before coming home two batters later on Blachowicz single to center.
Settling in allowing just one hit following the solo home run back in the home second, Cain encountered his other lone trouble in the fifth. A leadoff walk and Barton error with two-away prolonged the home fifth with a wild pitch producing the final run surrendered by the Ellis, KS product.
The Cougars continued to play small ball as a leadoff Grant Nottlemann single would score one batter later on Silva's third single of the game resting the final score at 7-2.
Cain surrendered just two hits, two runs (one-earned), walked three and struck out a career high nine over six innings of work moving to 1-1 on the season.
Kade Walker closed the door pitching the seventh permitting a two-out single before striking out his second batter to close out the contest.
Silva led the Barton bats in the opener recording his eighth multi-hit performance going 3-for-4 scoring twice and driving in one. Wiley and Blachowicz concluded the multi-hit performances for the Cougars each recording a pair of hits to go with their run scored and run driven home.
Game 2 Recap
Offense would come quick once again with the Cougar bats producing another three run first inning. A leadoff hit-by-pitch drawn by Bolin would cross home on the first of back-to-back RBI doubles by Sanchez and Quinton Robertson. The first of two Jets errors in the game would cap the first inning scoring allowing Robertson to cross.
Hemmerling would limit the damage in the home first allowing just one run to score on a double-play rolled up by the Cougars after facing a bases loaded jam with no-outs.
Sanchez and Robertson stretched the Barton lead out to 4-1 in the top of the third as Robertson's single to center drove home Sanchez leadoff double.
Owen Bailey closed out the scoring in the top of the fourth connecting on his first collegiate home run driving the 1-2 pitch over the left field fences pushing the Cougar lead out to 5-1.
Hemmerling improved to 2-0 on the year working four innings, yielding two hits, one run, walking three and striking out a new career high seven.
Colton Wahlstrom worked 2.0 innings out of the bullpen permitting one hit, walking a pair and striking out one. Howse was solid in his collegiate debut on the rubber working the final inning issuing one walk and collecting his first collegiate strikeout.
Sanchez led the offense in the weekend finale turning in a 3-for-4 performance legging out a pair of doubles, scoring twice and driving in one. Robertson concluded the two-hit performances finishing 2-for-3 driving in a pair and scoring once.