Starting pitcher Owen Reynolds provided six-plus strong innings as the 6th ranked Barton Community College baseball team stayed alive in the Region VI/Plains District Tournament Thursday evening at Eck Stadium.
Pitching for the first time since April 27th against Hutchinson, Reynolds highlighted an 8-5 Cougar victory over the Greyhounds of Fort Scott Community College in the second-round elimination game.
Sitting at 51-9 on the season, Barton will now play Kansas City Kansas Community College (39-22) for the second time in three days as the Cougars sent the Blue Dragons to the backside with an opening round 14-5 seventh inning run rule victory. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. with the winner advancing to the other elimination game scheduled for tomorrow evening's 5:00 p.m. start time against the loser of the Cowley College/Johnson County 11:00 a.m. game.
Trailing 2-0 after the first inning, back-to-back RBI singles in the second off the bats of Quinton Robertson and Henry Hayman brought in a Dryden Howse leadoff walk and Ayden Blachowicz single knotting it up at 2-all.
The Cougars took a 3-1 lead in the third as a Howse double drove home Ricardo Sanchez one-out drawn walk.
In the fourth, Barton would tack on five insurance runs all coming behind five hits and a walk with two outs. Ricardo Sanchez started the rally singling home Robby Bolin's one-out single. Ensuing a Howse double, Blachowicz increased the lead by a pair singling up the middle with the Cougars loading the bases two batters later off a Robertson double and Hayman walk. Making his first start of the tournament, Jaden Wiley delivered the big blow capping the Barton scoring lacing a missile up the middle plating two more making it 8-2 after four.
Holding the Grayhounds scoreless over the next five innings, two of Reynolds nine hits allowed to open the top of the sixth closed the door on the sophomore's brilliant start. Reliever Brett Allen limited the damage yielding an RBI single to the first batter fast before getting out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts and pop up.
Fort Scott would strike one final time in the top of the eighth as a two run no double blast to left rested the final score at 8-5.
Hunter Jones allowed a leadoff walk in the ninth before getting a fly out, groundout and strikeout to secure the victory and notch his fourth save of the season.
Reynolds (9-1) allowed nine hits, three runs while striking out five and walking one. Notching his ninth victory of the season, Reynolds moves into fifth place tie for most wins in a single season.
Blachowicz led the Cougar bats fabricating three of the 12 hits generated with Howse and Robertson concluding the multi-hit performances with two apiece.