The Barton Community College baseball team got 13-shutout innings from their two starting pitchers and pounded out 23 hits to defeat North Iowa Area Community College in the first two games of a three game weekend series Friday afternoon at Lawson-Biggs Field.
Making just his second start of the season, Reece Hemmerling pitched the Cougars to an opening game 6-0 victory, as the sophomore earned his first collegiate complete game shutout. Going for the doubleheader sweep in the nightcap, Aidan Sowers followed up Hemmerling's performance in game two tossing six-plus innings while the Cougar bats delivered the ultimate blow with a 13-run sixth inning, for a 15-5 run-rule victory over the Trojans.
Winners of now four straight, Barton improves to 10-4 overall while NIACC suffers their sixth straight loss in dropping to 5-8 overall. The series concludes Saturday at 12:00 p.m. from Lawson-Biggs Field.
Game 1 Recap (W 6-0)
Cougar starter Hemmerling set the tone early needing just six pitches to get through the first inning sending the Trojans down in order for the first of three times in the game.
Taking advantage of a Robby Bolin drawn hit-by-pitch and Owen Clyne walk with one-out, Ayden Hadley's bloop RBI double was the lone Barton run needed.
Adding to the lead in the fourth, a wild pitch bringing home Grant Nottlemann's leadoff double and walk to Wyatt Yetter scoring off Cooper Tabor's sacrifice bunt following one of two Cesar Gomez singles made it a 3-0 advantage.
Cole Schieffer's opposite field poke single to right increased the lead to 4-0, scoring Clyne's leadoff walk in the fifth with the final runs furnished on Clyne's two-out, two-RBI single plating Gomez second single and Bolin walk.
Helping preserve Hemmerling's shutout bid was Bolin's over the fence robbing catch in left center that brought back a potential game tying three-run home run in the top of the fifth. Now (2-0) on the season, Hemmerling concluded his seven-inning line, scattering a trio of hits, two walks and striking out seven Trojan batters in securing the complete game shutout.
Game 2 Recap (W 15-5)
One of three Trojan errors in the nightcap prolonged the bottom of the first with Schieffer's sacrifice fly driving in the first of his two runs produced handing Barton a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars lead increated to 2-0 in the home fifth as Clyne's one-out double brought around a leadoff error permitting Tabor to reach.
As Sowers continued to dominate on the mound allowing just two hits over six shutout innings, the Barton bats exploded with 11 of their 15 hits in the bottom of the sixth sending 17 batters to the plate and scoring 13 runs.
Eight of the nine in the lineup furnished RBIs in the 13-run inning led by Tabor and Bolin's two apiece while Bolin was one of three Cougars legging out a triple in the sixth with Yetter and Gomez producing back-to-back RBI triples.
Sitting for over 30-minutes, Sowers retired the leadoff man in the seventh before back-to-back hit batsmen and two-out error spoiling the shutout bid to eventually chase the sophomore following a two-RBI double.
Nathan Bowman sealed the run-rule victory with a strikeout after allowing the Trojans second double of the inning that produced a run and second error plating two more.
Notching his first victory of the season, Sowers (1-0) fell one out shy of his second complete game going 6.2-innings scattering three hits with all four runs unearned, walking one and fanning a season high eight.