The Barton Community College softball team closed out the 2019 regular season Monday dropping a double dip to 14th ranked Butler Community College 5-2 and 6-3 in extra innings.
The Grizzlies broke open the first game with a five run fourth inning in holding off a Barton rally before mounting a fifth inning game two comeback leading to an eventual eight inning victory by plating four runs to break a 2-all gridlock.
Barton concludes the regular season at 30-15 and in second place of the Jayhawk East at 20-6 behind the Grizzlies' 25-1 top conference mark as Butler improves to 36-6 overall.
Both teams begin Region VI playoff action on Friday at Dodge City's Legends Park with Barton taking on Seward County Community College in the 3:00 p.m. game and the Grizzlies playing Garden City Community College in the 7:00 p.m. slot. The double-elimination tournament will continue to Sunday's Championship game with the winner advancing to the District E best-of-three series May 15-16 hosted by the Region IX winner.
Game One Recap
Tia Kohl (15-6) kept the Grizzlies in check on one hit through the first three frames but was greeted with back-to-back home runs to begin the fourth. Asia Henry launched a liner over the left center fence for her seventh of the year with Anna Icenhower following in the lineup blasting a 2-2 pitch out to left field for her third long ball against the Cougars in the series and the eleventh of the freshman's season.
Two more hits and a trio of walks with a two Barton errors mixed in to add three more runs chased Kohl out the game with Karsyn Smith taking over in getting Icenhower to fly out ending the inning.
Barton had its chances to put runs on the boards, stranding a pair of runners in each of the first four innings, getting the breakthrough hit by Betsy Parmley in the fifth to drive home Jade Phillips' leadoff double. Demi Kunkel pushed home Brooke McCollough's single with a liner to left with Lia Chan drawing a full-count walk to load the bases. Perhaps a turning point either mentally and keeping the deficit at three, Alexis Sharples was caught looking for the inning ending third strike drawing the vocal ire of Barton fans.
With Smith sending the Grizzlies down in order in the sixth, the Cougars were back on the attack behind Jaelyn Carter and Phillips singles to begin the frame but reliever Kaylee Burnett got the final two outs to strand the threat.
Butler threatened again in the top of the seventh stranding a pair of their eleven total with Cougars stranding Chan's second walk of the game with two outs in the home half of the frame to rack up its thirteenth missed opportunity.
Megan Johnson picked up the victory improving to 13-2 on the season with Burnett working the final three inning earning her second save of the season.
Game Two Recap
Carter helped Barton get on the board first, leading off the home half with a double before moved over on a fly out before scooting home on a wild pitch.
Two doubles increased Barton's lead in the fourth inning with Parmley's leadoff two-bagger being followed by an out later by Maggie Schuetz one-hopper to the fence in left center.
The Grizzlies countered in the top of the ensuing inning, matching Barton's pair of doubles with Olivia DePew helping her own cause with one-out two-bagger being followed by Meghan Gutierrez RBI double cutting the deficit in half. A walk and reach on error would load the bases with Taliya Talley tying the game up on a sac fly.
A one-out single by Carter in the seventh, advancing to second on a wild pitch, gave Barton the opportunity to end the game but DePew induced a pair of fly outs to send the game to extra innings.
Talley struck again to lead off the eighth, launching her team leading 18th dinger of the season as the lefty yanked pitch over the right field fence to end what was a solid hard luck loss in the circle for Emma Horsch (9-5). Smith took over for the rest of the frame with Butler tacking on three more behind a RBI double with two more crossing the plate from a single and the Cougars' second error of the game.
McCollough gave Barton a sense of new life in the home half doing what Butler did in the top half of the inning, greeting a reliever (Burnett) with a solo shot to lead off the inning for freshman's seventh of the year. Singles by Parmley and Kunkel brought the tying run to the plate but Burnett was able to escape the threat inducing a pair of fielder's choice on either side of a strikeout to pick up her third save.
Phillips extended the freshman's consecutive games with a hit to twelve straight, leading the Cougars with four hits in six at bats with Kunkel batting .500 on the day with a pair of hits in each contest extending a multi-hit streak to three straight and five of the last six games.
