Uncharacteristic play dug the 6th ranked Barton Community College baseball team an early hole it was unable to fully climb out of late Thursday night at Wichita State University's Eck Stadium as the Cougars suffered a 9-6 loss to Cowley College.
The usually solid defensive Cougars committed four errors for the just the 4th time in 59 games, aided by untimely walks and offensively coming up empty despite outhitting the Tigers 11-9 in stranding the bags full three times including the final two innings for a total of fourteen base runners.
Dropped from the winner's bracket to the loser's bracket, the 50-9 Cougars and their 9-game win streak halted must now battle back beginning Friday at 1:00 p.m. against Fort Scott (38-22) as the Greyhounds eliminated Seward County 10-2 in the earlier Thursday contest.
Cowley (37-20) advances to play 2nd ranked Johnson County (53-7) in the winner's bracket final at 4:00 p.m. Friday.
Errors and walks compounded problems in a three inning stretch erasing Barton's 1-0 and 2-1 leads to a seven run deficit after the fifth frame.
Ricardo Sanchez gave Barton the first inning lead ending a 10-pitch at-bat by depositing his 8th home run of the year in a deposit beyond the left field fence. The 2-out connection would be the lone score of the frame despite the Cougars loading the bags on Dryden Howse reaching on hit by pitch, Aidan Blachowicz' single, and Quintin Robertson's walk.
The Cougars would again threaten in their second at-bat stranding Henry Hayman's leadoff single and Riley Silva reaching on a two-out error.
Tegan Cain worked an efficient first two innings but a leadoff hit batsman and single spelled trouble as an infield error would allow the tying run.
Howse quickly put the Cougars back on top to lead off the home half, sending a 3-1 pitch deep into the night in left field for his 8th of the year.
Five pitches into the Cowley 4th frame a solo shot tied it for the final time at 2-all. Cain battled back to get a strike out but the dropped ball allowed the runner aboard. Another similar situation in fanning the next batter, the Cougars throwing out the runner at 1st but committed a throwing error trying to get the lead runner resulting in the Tigers getting the go-ahead run.
After Barton stranded Jaron Cotton's 1-out hit by pitch, a disasterous 5th inning dug the Cougars a mental and physical hole it couldn't climb out of.
Miscues and a disappearing strike zone mounted for the Cougars, a leadoff walk and error scoring on a three-run home run. The Tigers would end up with a six spot on the scoreboard as Barton went through four pitchers in the four-walk, one-error, and just two hit inning.
Fast forward to the bottom of the 8th, Barton got three straight hits to break the five inning scoring drought. Blachowicz's leadoff hit moved to third on Robertson's 17th double of the season as the duo scooted home on Grant Nottlemann's sixth two-bagger of the year.
Cowley went to the bullpen, striking out two Cougars before Robby Bolin and Silva drew consecutive walks to load the bags for the 2nd time of the game. Sanchez pushed one run across in drawing the third straight walk but another call to the bullpen resulted in silencing the Cougars' hottest hitter in Howse with a groundout.
Getting five strong innings of relief by Tyrus Riley on four hits and four strikeouts, the Cougars made things interesting in their final at-bat.
Robertson gave Barton a spark in the home half with one-out, launching his 5th home run of the season beyond the right field fence. Nottlemann beat out a dropped third strike with singles by Hayman and Jaden Wiley's pinch hit single loading the bases. A strikeout later and the Tigers' closed out the game on a groundout to send Barton a game from elimination.
Single Season Record Impacts
Ricardo Sanchez
- 5th most RBIs in a single season (70)
Tegan Cain
- 5th most strikeouts in single season (93)