Dating back to 2007 the Barton Community College softball team had been unable to win in Liberal, Kansas, but the 2015 edition of the Lady Cougars erased the streak earning a doubleheader split Wednesday at Seward County Community College. Breaking a twelve game stretch of losses in Liberal, the Lady Cougars also snapped a twenty-four game losing streak to the Lady Saints with a come from behind 3-1 victory in the opener before falling 8-3 in the nightcap. Off to its best start in school history, Barton returns home 16-5 on the season and 2-2 in conference play while Seward County goes to 13-9 and 4-2 in the Jayhawk West. Needing a much needed rest playing eleven games in the last week, the Lady Cougars will have a couple days away from action before hosting Dodge City Community College in a 2:00 p.m. conference doubleheader on Saturday at Cougar Field.
With Taylor Bugner limiting Seward County to only two hits in the opener, the Cougars put together seven hits led by last week's conference and national player of the week Erica Harper's 2-for-4 performance.
Defense wasn't the specialty of the Lady Cougars in the doubleheader as Barton committed the first of three errors in the first game allowing the second batter aboard eventually turning into the Lady Saints' lone run in the game. It was the only error of the three to haunt the Lady Cougars but four in the nightcap would prove costly.
It took three innings Wednesday but Barton finally broke through in the fourth as Brianna Ward set the table with a leadoff double to begin the inning. Following Harper reaching on an interference play, Kylie Everill doubled to left field to tie the game up.
One inning later the Cougars would take the lead as Braydee Bakovich got things going with a lead off single up the middle. Following a McKenna Mauler sac bunt moving Bakovich to second, Bailey Hensley drove a 3-2 pitch to left field giving Barton a one run lead.
Bugner came through in the home half of the fifth working out of a leadoff single and walk to protect the lead. Barton threatened again in the sixth with a one-out Caitlin Garcia walk and Jenna Hosey single but came up empty and Bugner again held off the Lady Saints working out of a first and second one-out jam. With two quick outs in the Barton seventh, Harper delivered her sixth homerun of the season giving the Lady Cougars some cushion heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Two Barton infield errors made the bottom of the seventh interesting as Seward loaded the bases with one-out. Bugner battled again and in three pitches induced a fly out in foul territory and fielder's choice groundout seal the win improving to 7-1 with the complete game two-hitter.
Barton came out aggressive to begin the nightcap but stranded two and extended the courtesy allowing the Lady Saints leadoff to reach base via the first of four Barton game two errors. It would prove costly in giving Seward County its first run and then again in the second inning, when another error helped the Lady Saints build a two run lead.
Seward returned the favor in the third leading off the inning by putting Mauler on the base path with a hit by pitch. Mauler then stole second base and moved to third two pitches later on a passed ball. Hensley, who got two of the Lady Cougars' four hits in the nightcap, drove in Mauler on the next pitch with a sacrifice fly to cut the Seward County deficit in half.
A single and another Barton infield error set up the Lady Saints two-run third inning. Starting pitcher Everill was on the verge of getting out of the inning with two straight outs but Hannah Clark drove a 2-2 pitch to right field pushing the Seward lead out by two.
The Lady Cougars struck back in the top of the next inning as Everill led off the inning with a walk and following a Holly Posegate groundout, pinch runner Brooke Panning scored on the Lady Saints miscue of Garcia's ground ball. Hosey subsequently stole second and Bakovich came through with her third RBI of the season with a shot up the box drawing Barton back to within one.
With the Barton pitching staff depleted due to its recent nine-game five-game stretch, game one winning pitcher Taylor Bugner replaced Everill and struggled to find her game one groove. Walking two batters on either side of a sac bunt, Kolby Hamilton greeted Bugner with an RBI single followed by Grace Peterson's RBI sac fly staked Seward a 6-3 lead.
The Barton and Seward bats went silent for the next couple of innings before consecutive one-out doubles by Vanessa Oakden and Jaidyn Mawhinney set up Peterson's two-run single to cap the Lady Saints seven hit eight run victory.
Everill took the hard luck loss dropping to 3-2 on the season giving up four unearned runs on three hits in three innings while walking two and striking out one. Bugner, who threw 167 pitches in the doubleheader, pitched the final three innings giving up four hits, walking two, and four runs with three of those earned.