The 7th ranked Barton Community College baseball team scored 11 unanswered runs over a five inning stretch Thursday afternoon completing the two-game sweep of Labette Community College 11-4 in the opening round of the Plains District/Region VI Playoffs at Lawson-Biggs Field.
Advancing to the second round of the Central District Tournament for the second straight season, the Cougars improve their program best single season record to 49-8 overall while the Cardinals have their season end for the second straight year in Great Bend at 20-32.
Barton will open the eight-team double-elimination Central District Tournament, Wednesday at Eck Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University in Wichita. The top-seeded Cougars will play the winner of No. 8 seed Kansas City Kansas Community College or No. 9 seed Dodge City Community College at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday.
Game Recap
For the second consecutive day, the Cougars would face an early deficit as a pair of singles and four walks furnished a 2-0 Cardinal lead after the top of the first.
Sending seven to the plate in the bottom of the second, Grant Nottlemann cut the deficit to one drawing a five pitch bases loaded walk with Henry Hayman pulling it even at 2-2, five pitches later distributing a sacrifice fly after the Cougars loaded the bags with none away behind a Dryden Howse walk, fielder's choice allowing Ayden Blachowicz to reach and Quinton Robertson drawn hit-by-pitch.
Starting pitcher Tegan Cain locked in over the next four innings allowing three baserunners and recorded seven of his nine strikeouts to maintain the Barton momentum.
Placing runners in scoring position two batters into the bottom of the third following a Riley Silva plunking and Ricardo Sanchez double, Howse handed Barton its' lone lead needed furnishing an RBI groundout. Needing just one pitch, Blachowicz increased the lead by another distributing a run producing single to center for a 4-2 advantage.
Sending six straight to the plate with one out in the bottom of the fourth, the Cougars tacked five more runs to the lead while hitting for the cycle in the inning. Jaron Cotton opened the scoring driving a 1-2 pitch over the fences in left center for his third blast of the season. Loading the bases off a Robby Bolin single, Silva hit-by-pitch and Sanchez walk, Howse supplemented the big blow lining a bases clearing double down the right field line before scoring on Blachowicz triple to right for an 9-2 lead.
Barton's final insurance runs came in the sixth as a Cardinal error brought across a Silva single and Sanchez walk extending the lead to nine, 11-2.
Labette made one final push with a walk, hit-by-pitch and two straight singles producing a run with the final tally crossing on a groundout.
Battling early command issues walking four of his six in the opening frame, Cain (8-2) settled in going five innings yielding three hits, two runs while tying his career high in strikeouts fanning nine. The victory moves Cain into a four-way tie for eighth most wins in a single season.
Brett Allen worked an inning in relief surrendering two runs off three hits, walking one and striking out one. Tyrus Riley allowed one baserunner over the final three innings and striking out five of Barton's 15 recorded between the trio of pitchers.