The Barton Community College softball team had an early lead erased in game one while falling behind early in the nightcap to drop a pair of non-conference games Wednesday at Cougar Field, 6-1 and 9-4 to Hutchinson Community College. Searching for its first victory in four games, Barton's next opportunity will come next Tuesday with a trip to Salina for a 5:00 p.m. doubleheader against the junior varsity squad of Kansas Wesleyan University.
Emma Horsch gave the Cougars an early lead in the opener, blasting a one-out shot to left field for the freshman from Lyons' first collegiate home run. Returning to the center circle, Horsch held the lead thru three innings in striking out five until cleanup hitter Raven Bass launched the tying run with a center field long ball. Hutchinson would go deep two more times in the following inning with leadoff hitter Ashton Reynolds connecting on two-run left center long ball with Bass connecting on her second fence clearer three batters later with a two-out two RBI scorcher to right center for a 5-1 Dragon lead to the through five. Reynolds would tie Bass for team high runs batted in with a two-out single in the sixth for Hutchinson's eventual five run victory while sending Horsch to the complete game loss.
Hutchinson jumped on the Cougars and game two starter Allison Panning with five first inning runs, tallying five hits to go along with a walk and an infield error. The Dragons tacked on two more in the following inning taking advantage of a walk and single along with two errors to chase Panning as Horsch closed out the frame for the final two outs to limit the damage.
Horsch kept the Dragons quiet through the next two innings before a leadoff double led to Hutchinson looking to lock up an eight-run game ender header to the bottom of the fifth. Kat Frakes' leadoff single set the tone for the game extender with Hailey Pop's single to left center driving in the run but the Cougars stranded two of their eleven base runners in the contest with twenty total in the two-game set.
The Dragons answered the Cougars with a two out double in the sixth but the Cougars again came fighting back behind Sophia Nduwayo's leadoff single and Kristin Storer's walk before Oklahoma City sophomore Andreana Reynolds launched her fifth career homerun with a two-out no-doubter to center cutting the final margin to five.