Barton Baseball completes four game sweep of Pratt #GoBarton

For the second straight weekend, the Barton Community College baseball team finished off a four-game sweep of a Jayhawk Conference foe by taking down Pratt Community College 5-3 and 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Pratt's Stanion Field.

A four run first inning keyed the Cougars in the opener with Ethan Minaker and Kyler Horsman combining to toss a one-hitter in the nightcap securing Barton's twin bill sweep.

Winners of 11 straight, the Cougars move to 10-2 in conference play and 23-6 overall while Pratt remains searching for their first league win falling to 0-12 and 11-20 on the season.

Barton will wrap up its four-game road trip Thursday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. as the Cougars and Saints of Seward County Community College meet at Liberal's Brent Gould Field for the first two of a four game set before concluding the series Saturday at Lawson-Biggs Field. 

Game 1 (W 5-3)
Six different Cougars recorded hits in the opener with Hank Orr leading Barton's seven hits with a 2-for-3 performance and one of four recording an RBI.

Sending eight to the plate in the first, back-to-back run producing singles by Jaron Cotton and Ayden Hadley gifted Barton a 2-0 lead with a wild pitch and Orr sacrifice fly coating a 4-0 start.

Responding with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first furnished off a groundout and Cougar error, the Beavers cut the deficit in half before drawing within one in the third on another run producing groundout.

Answering the bell in the fourth, Cesar Gomez groundout brought across the first of Orr's two hits widening the lead back to two runs and ultimate 5-3 result.

Bradley Feezer (3-2) notched his third victory of the year as the freshman's final line finished 5.1-innings scattering six hits with two earned runs, walking one and striking out three.

Locking down the final 1.2-innings, Preston Golden recorded two of his three strikeouts to escape a pair of singles in the sixth while also pitching around a two-out walk in the seventh to secure his first collegiate save. 

Game 2 (W 2-1)
Offenses were at a premium in the nightcap as both pitching staffs engaged in a pitcher's duel allowing just two runs through the opening six innings.

Humming on the mound, Minaker (3-0) worked six-plus innings allowing one unearned run coming in the seventh as one of three Barton errors in the game started the inning with a fielder's choice pushing the Beavers lone run across. Minaker's lone hit allowed came in the fourth while walking one and striking out four in the winning effort.

Entering in the seventh, Horseman locked down the Pratt hitters at the plate tossing three no-hit innings with four strikeouts in earning the Manhattan, KS native's first collegiate save.

Offensively the Cougars were held to just three hits with Orr and Gomez back-to-back leadoff singles in the third sparking the two-run inning as Robby Bolin's RBI groundout and a Beaver balk brought the pair in to score.

Having his career best 24-game hit streak snapped in game one, Bolin bounced back in the nightcap with Barton's other hit going 1-for-4 with an RBI and stolen base.