Henry Hayman hit a pair of home runs and drove in four helping the 7th ranked Barton Community College baseball team to an 17-8 game two victory over Butler Community College to split the first two games of a four game Jayhawk West Series Thursday afternoon at McDonald Stadium in El Dorado.
Scoring 20 runs over the afternoon, the Cougars strung together 13 of their 17 runs in the final three innings in game two to salvage the doubleheader split after the Grizzlies won the series opener 8-3.
Barton remains atop the Jayhawk West standings at 15-3, improving to 36-5 on the season with Butler slipping into a third place tie in the league standings at 11-7 and 24-16 on the season.
The four-game series will continue Saturday with the series shifting to Great Bend's Danny Lawson-Jimmy Biggs Field for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader.
Game 1 Recap
Playing without their leading hitter Riley Silva, the Cougars offense would come at a minimum for the Cougars in the opener managing just three runs on six hits.
Scoring in all six innings, Butler would be gifted right out of the gates as a lost ball in the sun with two outs handed the home squad a 1-0 advantage on Brock Lummus run producing triple.
Catching a break of their own in the top of the second, Barton drew even as a Ayden Blachowicz one out double raced home from second on Henry Hayman's high chopping infield single.
Two batters into the bottom of the second, the Grizzlies grabbed the lead for good as one of two Cougar errors committed in the game opened the frame before trotting home on the next pitch off Cole Murrell's two-run homer to right.
Barton clawed within a pair in the top of the fourth when Chandler Miller reached on a leadoff error, stealing second, reaching third on the second error of the inning and scoring on Hayman's groundout his second run producer of the game.
Answering the call, Butler responded with a pair of runs coming with two outs in the bottom of the fourth as a Garrett Fager solo shot and back-to-back singles produced another run with a Barton error in the fifth adding another making it 7-2
Dryden Howse capped the Cougars scoring leading off the sixth with his fourth-round tripper of the season while Butler struck back with a run in the home sixth.
Starting pitcher David Stuart (3-3) struck out eight over four innings, allowing eight hits and six runs (five earned).
Tyrus Riley worked 1 1/3 innings with Kade Walker working the final 2/3 innings.
Game 2 Recap
Trailing 5-1 after four innings, the Cougars began to cut into the deficit as an Owen Bailey walk to open the fifth jogged home one pitch later on Robby Bolin's X fence clearer of the year trimming the deficit to a pair, 5-3.
An inning later Hayman airmailed the first of his two home runs out to right field for his fourth of the season pulling Barton within one, 5-4.
Breaking things open, the Cougars pieced together an eight-run top of the seventh sending 13 batters to the plate. Loading the bases with no outs on a pair of Bolin and Ricardo Sanchez singles and four pitch walk to Quinton Robertson, Howse drew Barton even at 5-apiece drawing the second straight four pitch base on balls. A batter later, Jaden Wiley pushed the Cougars in front with a one out run producing single while Grant Nottlemann increased the lead reaching on a fielder's choice bringing in Howse and another crossing on the end of a Grizzlies throwing error scoring Blachowicz. Three pitches later Hayman launched his second of the game and team leading fifth home run of the season to left driving in three while a Robertson RBI fielder's choice closing out the eight-run inning.
Butler rallied back in the home seventh loading the bases with no outs as a leadoff triple and back-to-back walks helped produce an RBI fielder's choice and sacrifice fly clawing within, 12-8.
The Cougars laid the game on ice in the top of the ninth plating five more runs off six singles and a walk. Owen Bailey strung the first of five straight singles to begin the ninth extending his hitting streak to 10 straight games while Robertson drove in a pair and Howse plating another before the first out would be recorded. Nottlemann capped the Barton scoring two batters later with the sixth single of the inning driving home a pair.
Starting hurler Owen Reynolds earned a no-decision working three innings, allowing five runs, nine hits with four strikeouts. Ivan Cox (2-0) secured his second victory of the season in relief going 3 1/3 innings scattering three hits, three runs, walking a pair and fanning four Grizzlies.
Entering in a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh, Bryan Bartels limited the damage in his inning of work, walking two and striking out two.
Hunter Jones tossed 1 1/3 innings recording two strikeouts and walking one with Colton Wahlstrom notching the final out with a strikeout.