The Barton Community College softball team opened up the 2015 season with a doubleheader sweep at Cougar Field over the junior varsity squad from Bethany College. Taking game one 11-3 in a game shortened five innings, the Lady Cougars erased a three run deficit to take the nightcap 9-3. Barton will take the field again on Thursday for another 2:00 p.m. doubleheader hosting North Platte Community College.
Bailey Hensley got the Cougars rolling in game one as the sophomore led off the first inning with a lined shot over the left field fence for her fifth career homerun.
With Bethany tying the game in the top of the second, Holly Posegate helped her cause in the center circle leading off the home half with a double to right field. Advancing to third on a passed ball, Posegate scored two pitches later as Jenna Hosey's ground ball was misplayed by the Swede infield.
Following a three strikeout inning by Posegate, Barton increased the margin by plating five in the inning highlighted by freshman catcher Caitlin Garcia's three-run homer to center. Briana Ward kept the inning alive with a double to left and following a McKenna Mauler walk, Hensley drove in her second of three runs on the day with a double to left.
Alyssa Montoya doubled to left with one out in the visitor fourth coming home on the 3-2 count centerfield homerun by Loren Stuive.
Barton got one back in the home half thanks to a two-out double by Posegate setting up Hosey's delivery just past the Swede shortstop.
Ward began the final fifth inning reaching second base on the error by centerfielder Deanna Van Poucke. Hensley drove in Ward with a single up the middle then moved to third on Taylor Bugner's identical shot up the box and scored on Erika Harper's deep fly to left. Kylie Everill clinched the contest with another Cougar base hit up the middle scoring Bugner for the game winner.
Hensley led the nine-hit debut of the young Cougars going 3-for-4 driving in the three runs and scoring twice. As six players had a hit, Posegate was the one other with a multi-hit performance going 2-for-3 in her Cougar debut but more impressively also picking up the win. The freshman from Loveland, Colorado, struck out eight of the twenty batters she faced giving up only four hits and one walk in her five innings.
The Barton bats went silent for the first two innings of game two while Bethany jumped out to 3-0 lead on freshman pitcher Taylor Bugner. Going 0-2 in game one, Great Bend freshman McKenna Mauler got her first hit leading off the Barton third. Following walks by Sammie White and Bailey Hensley, Mauler scored on a passed ball setting up runners and second and third. Jumping on the second pitch she saw, Jenna Hosey laced a shot to left just missing a homerun off the top of the fence driving home White and Hensley with the two RBI triple to tie it up. Erica Harper next broke the tie pushing home Hosey with a groundout to shortstop.
Inducing two weak ground balls to begin the fourth, Bugner gave up a single followed by a passed ball allowing Bethany to put a runner in position. An infield error allowed the inning to continue prompting second year head coach Marc Benjamin to bring in Kylie Everill who promptly struck out Montoya ending the inning and protecting the one-run lead.
The Cougars broke out the long ball in the bottom of the fifth increasing the lead out to four. Following Harper reaching on an infield error, Everill helped her cause launching a 2-1 pitch deep to center field. Two pitches later Posegate made it back-to-back jacks with a right center bomb pushing the lead out to 7-3.
With Everill making quick work of the Swedes in the sixth on nine pitches including two strikeouts, the Cougars were back at-bat ready to do more damage. Inserted as a pinch hitter, Braydee Bakovich didn't get an opportunity to swing as the first pitch she saw ran too far inside sending the Colorado freshman to first base. Following a Hensley fly out and Hosey fielder's choice, Bakovich was erased after being called out for interference. In stepped Harper wasting little time by launching the second pitch she saw deep to left center for her tenth career homerun.
Everill closed out the seventh to secure the win pitching 3.1 innings of no-hit ball, walking two and striking out four. Bugner started the game lasting 3.2 innings giving up eight hits and three runs.
Three Cougars had multi-hit games led by Posegate and Mauler's 2-of-3 games and Hosey's 2-4 two RBI performance. Harper and Everill each added to Barton's ten hits as Harper drove in three runs and Everill driving in two.