Piling up thirty-one hits resulting in a walk-off 8-7 victory and a 9-3 win, the Barton Community College softball team swept Thursday's Cougar Field conference matchup with Colby Community College. The avenged pair of victories splits the season series with the third place Trojans as the fourth place Cougars improve to 14-12 in Jayhawk play and 17-21 overall while Colby slips to 16-8 and 32-12 on the season. Due to forecasted weather, the Cougars won't be back on the diamond until Tuesday as Barton hosts fifth place Garden City Community College (10-16, 21-25) in the regular season finale beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Connecting for two doubles in the opener, Kat Frakes belted the first in the bottom of the second to drive in Kristin Storer's two-out single.
A two-out error extending the Colby third inning allowing a run to score with two more crossing on Alexis Kagan's double and Katelin Eastman's single up the middle.
Barton responded with back-to-back solo bombs, Hailey Pop leading off the home half with her sixth of the season while Morgan Michaelis joined twelve previous Cougars with ten or more single season homeruns in launching her 10th of the year in the almost identical spot as Pop's left center shot.
Andreana Reynolds walk following the home runs would eventually give the Cougars a 4-3 lead after advancing on Jaila Jordan's single and scoring on a wild pitch.
Storer led off the ensuing inning with a walk and again crossed the dish as Frakes ripped her second double of the day team leading 19th two-bagger of the year. One out later Michaelis drove home Frakes with a single to center as the Cougars doubled up the Trojans 6-3.
Having controlled the first six innings, Barton and starting hurler Emma Horsch were in an immediate jam as the Trojans strung three consecutive hits to open the seventh in loading the bases. Kagan delivered a right field single to close the gap two one before Eastman put the resurgent Trojans ahead with a double launched to the left center gap. Horsch would strike out six in the contest, none bigger than getting the first and third out of the inning around a ground out to keep the deficit at one.
Nasadiya Salazar immediately gave Barton hope in the home half, drawing a walk before a passed ball and Storer sac bunt moved the Kansas City freshman to third base. Sharples, one of six Cougars with a multi-hit game drove in the tying run with a single before Frakes walked and an infield error loaded the bases with one out. Already 2-for-4 with the home run and two runs driven in, Michaelis didn't even get a chance for her third hit as reliever Mahealani Haegele's inside pitch stuck the Lyons sophomore creating a rare walk-off RBI on the hit by pitch.
Pop and Michaelis were back to their back-to-back magic in the nightcap, roping consecutive two out doubles to give Barton an early one run lead.
Four of Colby's nine hits came in the third inning as the first three pushed across the tying run with Allison Panning ending the bases loaded threat with the first of her three strikeouts in the contest.
As they had all day, Barton responded to the Colby runs with Sharples driving a double to left center before scoring on Horsch's double to deep right field. One batter later Pop's single doubled up the margin to 3-1.
A trio of singles by Storer, Sharples, and Horsch opened up the bottom of the fifth but Michaelis' one out RBI single was all the Cougars could tack on to their lead.
The Trojans made things interesting in the ensuing sixth inning getting RBIs from a single and double to cut the deficit to one.
Play looked to be headed to the final inning with the slim margin as the Cougars' first two batters went down quick but Storer belted a 2-2 pitch to centerfield extending the inning with the California sophomore's fourth dinger of the year. The shot re-energized the Cougars as once again Barton strung a trio of singles together with Sharples, Horsch, and Pop finding the outfield grass to load the bases. Fouling off the first 0-2 pitch, Michaelis then fouled off a pair of 2-2 pitches then sent a liner to right center to clear the bases on the double in completing her five RBI game. Colby committed an error to extend the game another batter with Maggie Schuetz driving in the fifth two-out run with a liner to left field.
Panning sent the Trojans down in order in the seventh including chalking up her third strikeout improving to 9-8 on the Ellinwood freshman's season. Improving to 8-11 on the game one win, Horsch was perfect in game two at the plate going 3-for-3 including the RBI double.
Sharples, Pop, and Michaelis each had five hits in the doubleheader with Michaelis' eight runs batted in leading the team's RBI total of sixteen.
Horsch finished with four hits in the twin bill as did Storer in giving Barton spark in the lower lineup with a near perfect 4-of-5 from the plate.