The Barton Community College softball team got a pair of strong pitching performances and big hits when they needed it to sweep Independence Community College 8-2 and 4-0 Thursday afternoon at Cougar Field.

The second straight home doubleheader sweep improves the Cougars to 5-9 in conference play and 9-19 on the season while Independence slides to 3-7 in league and 13-13 overall.

Barton's next opportunity to extend their four game win streak comes Saturday in hosting Northwest Kansas Technical College in a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at Cougar Field.

The Cougars' starting pitchers helped set the tone on the day striking out a combined 12 Pirates, scattering nine hits with one earned run and walking just three in fourteen innings.

Game one winner Ashlee Lucero was spotted a two run lead on a pair of Pirate errors in the home half before a two-out Cougar error allowed one to cross in the third with a solo tow-out home run tying the game in the fourth inning.

Madison Faylor gave her battery mate the lead back in the home half of the fourth, driving a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence for the eventual game winner. The Cougars weren't done in the frame despite two outs, putting five on the board behind consecutive triples from Kayli Dryden and Kennedee Lara before Brooke McCollough drove in the final two of the 8-2 victory on a home run to center.

Kayla Beers spun the game two shutout on five strikeouts, protecting an early 2-0 lead in the home half of the first in getting a pair of insurance runs in the third.

Two-out RBI singles by Adreanna Lance and Faylor provided the winning runs in the opening frame, with Lance striking again in the third on a double driving in McCollough's leadoff two-bagger and scoring on Halie Stoneking's two-out double.