Stranding the tying and go-ahead runners in the seventh in an 8-7 loss to open the day, the Barton Community College baseball team would burst out scoring 15-runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to salvage the series finale with a 20-10 seventh inning run-rule victory over Cloud County Community College to split the home doubleheader at Lawson-Biggs Field on Saturday afternoon.
Snapping its five-game skid to Cloud County, the Cougars now sit at 29-14 on the year with a fifth best 14-10 league mark while the T-Birds clinched their first series victory over Barton since 2019 taking 3-of-4 over the weekend moving to 29-13 overall with a conference second best record of 15-5.
Stepping out of conference play for the next five games, Barton will resume its homestand Tuesday afternoon in a 2:00 p.m. first pitch against the 19th ranked Tigers of Cowley College in the second game of a home-and-away series. Set to take on the Tigers for the second time in a month's span, the Cougars took the opening contest 16-8 at Cowley back on March 19th.
Game 1 Recap (L 8-7)
Scoreless through the opening two frames, Owen Clyne's single extending his hitting streak to 12-straight games in the bottom of the third broke open the scoring bringing home Robby Bolin's reaching fielder's choice gifting Barton a brief 1-0 lead.
Stringing five of their 12 hits together in the top of the fourth, Cloud County pieced a three-run inning on Noah Konings two-run round tripper to left center and fourth single in the frame producing an Austin Coyle RBI and 3-1 lead.
Reclaiming the lead behind a trio of hits in the home fourth, the Cougars jetted back out front for the final time at 4-3, following Bolin's RBI single scoring Wyatt Yetter's drawn leadoff walk and Cesar Gomez distributing the third single of the frame driving Grant Nottlemann's bunt single and Bolin in from second.
Scoring five unanswered, Nolan Fruend's double in the top of the fifth evened things at 4-4 with the ultimate damage coming in the sixth as a Paul Schuyler two-run home run and Fruend two-run single aided off a trio of hit-by-pitches pushed Cloud back out front 8-4.
Kyler Horsman cut the Cougar deficit to within one, 8-7 launching his first collegiate home run over the left center field scoreboard trotting home Bolin's plunking and Gomez ensuing walk.
Keeping the margin at one, Preston Golden worked a scoreless top of the seventh pitching around a two-out single.
Looking for one final rally attempt, Jaron Cotton's leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh advancing on Trent Reitmayer's pinch hit sacrifice bunt and Nottlemann's two-out drawn walk would be left with a foul out to left field stranding the tying run at second and go-ahead runner at first.
Making just his fourth start, Nathan Bowman earned a no-decision tossing a career high 4.1-innings scattering eight hits, four runs with a walk and three strikeouts.
Colton Wahlstrom (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season in relief working 1.0-inning yielding two hits and three runs.
Game 2 Recap (W 20-10 (7))
Already extending his hitting streak to 12-straight in the bottom of the first, Bolin legged out the first of three doubles produced by the Cougars in the bottom of the third sparking a four-run frame. Clyne's RBI double a batter later cut the deficit in half stretching his hitting streak to 13 straight coming across with Cotton and Horsman walks off Owen Bailey's bases clearing three-run double pushing Barton out front 5-4.
Cloud County wouldn't take long to regain the lead in the top of the fourth as Demitri Shakotko's two-run home run succeeding a leadoff walk gifted the T-Birds a 6-5 lead with an additional two runs crossing in the top of the sixth extending the lead to 8-5, on Shakotko's run producing single and Jakob Poturnak's sacrifice fly.
Held to six hits through five innings, the Cougar offense erupted following a leadoff strikeout in the ultimate game-changing sixth inning with 15 consecutive batters reaching base while pounding out 12 hits and 15 runs to turn an 8-5 deficit into a 20-8 advantage.
Sending a total of 21 to the plate in the sixth, Cole Schieffer and Bolin powered the run production driving in six of the 15 runs with three apiece. Gomez and Horsman added a pair of RBIs each with Cotton, Brock Howard, Hank Orr and Clyne each knocking in one.
Four singles in the top of the seventh scoring two runs pulled the T-Birds to within 20-10 forcing Jordan Bedell to come on to provide the final out on a fielder's choice to secure the run rule victory.
Bolin led a five-pack of multi-hit performance by the Cougars with a career best 5 for 5 day with a double, five RBIs and four runs scored.
Going a combined 6 for 9 performance from the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup, Bailey finished 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs while Howard added going 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Stretching his hitting streak to a season long 13-games, Clyne finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs while Schieffer rounded the multi-hit performances turning in a 2 for 3 day off the bench with three runs brought home.
Entering in the fourth inning Anthony Treto (4-1) provided strong work out of the bullpen going 3.2-innings permitting five hits, four runs, three earned, walking one and fanning a trio of T-Birds in notching his fourth victory of the season.
Starter Ethan Minaker pitched the opening 2.2-innings in the no-decision effort. Cade Kunz and Bedell each went 0.1-innings.