Banner season comes to a shocking end for No. 19 Barton Baseball #GoBarton

A banner season was just not meant to carry on past day 2 at the Region 6/Plains District Championship as the No. 19 ranked Barton Community College baseball team was eliminated by Hutchinson Community College 9-1 in seven-innings on Wednesday afternoon at Dean Evans Field in Salina.

The Cougars immediately fell behind on a first-inning two-run home run with the Blue Dragons tacking on another run in the second. Following Barton's first scoreless worked inning over the last 9-innings, Hutchinson responded with a five run fourth to build up an 8-0 lead before the Cougars broke through with their lone run in the home fourth.

Claiming the program's 12th Jayhawk West regular season title, Barton closes out the 2025 campaign at 42-13 after dropping both games in the Region 6/Plains District Tournament. The Blue Dragons extend their season to Thursday's 10:00 a.m. elimination contest against Kansas City Kansas who lost to No. 2 seed Johnson County 9-1 in the winner's bracket.

Just like Tuesday's opening round game, the Cougars faced a 2-0 deficit before coming to the plate on Anthony Mazza's two-run home run. Tyler Janssen kicked off a promising Barton first collecting a leadoff single with Hunter Alvord's ensuing walk putting the tying run on with no-out, but the big hit never produced stranding two of its eight left on base.

Plagued behind a trio of miscues yesterday, errors continued to haunt the Cougars with Hutchinson building the lead to 3-0 taking advantage of the first of two arrant pickoff moves following a leadoff single and groundout bringing home the runner.

Working the first scoreless frame in the third, all Barton momentum quickly escaped as the Blue Dragons stormed back in the fourth adding five runs on a trio of singles, pair of doubles, hit batsman and Cougar error for an 8-0 advantage.

Producing the second most 139 extra base hits in conference play, John Connors leadoff double to open the fourth supplied Barton's lone extra base knock of the tournament later scoring on Kyle Walker's sacrifice fly for the Cougars lone run making it 8-1.

The second pickoff error of the contest moved Hutchinson's seventh inning leadoff single to third with the Blue Dragons putting the run-rule into effect with a perfectly executed safety squeeze sacrifice bunt.

The Cougars mounted their biggest rally attempt of the tournament in their final at-bat loading the bases with two-outs behind Cesar Gomez single for just the fourth Barton hit followed by Janssen's worn badge of honor and Alvord's walk, but the needed hit resulted in a groundout right into the Blue Dragon shift.

Barton was outhit 4-11 on the afternoon and 11-9 over the 14-innings played in the tournament.

Wyatt Yetter, Gomez, Connors and Janssen combined for one of Barton's four hits.

Anthony Treto (5-4) started and worked the first 3.1-innings for the Cougars. He allowed seven runs (six-earned) with four strikeouts before handing off to a trio of sophomores.

Ethan Minaker went 0.2-innings, Kiernan Meredith tossed 2.0-innings working out of a two-on inherited fifth-inning jam with both of his strikeouts while Preston Golden handled a scoreless seventh frame.