The Barton Community College softball team rallied from a three run deficit with a nine run fifth inning before holding on for a 11-9 opening round victory over Garden City Community College in the Region VI Tournament held at Dodge City's Legend Park.
Now 25-20 on the season, the fourth seeded Cougars advance to Saturday's 12:00 p.m. semifinal against top seed and 6th ranked Butler Community College. Fifth seeded Garden City slides to 22-31 in dropping to the Saturday 10:00 a.m. elimination game against eight seed Northwest Kansas Technical College. The victor of the Barton-Butler game will play at 4:00 p.m. winner's bracket finals while the loser slips to the 2:00 p.m. elimination game against the victor of third seeded Colby and seventh seeded Dodge City.
The Cougars utilized all five pitchers with Jessica Morgan's 4.2 innings getting the win improving to 12-7 but the big story in the circle was Elizabeth Horsch closing out the game. Inheriting a runner at second base following the Broncbusters rolling with momentum having scored four runs on no outs, Horsch got the final three outs getting help from the Cougar defense including Halie Stoneking's snaring the final out at the left field fence to earn her first collegiate save.
Garden City put three runs on the board in the opening frame to chase starter Kayla Beers from the game as Morgan came in inducing a fielder's choice and strikeout to escape further damage.
Stoneking led off the home half with her 8th home run of the season as the Cougars would load and strand the bases full after Kayden Smith and Jaysa Anderson singles followed by Teegan Krol's two out walk.
The Broncbusters got the run back in the third, a leadoff double scoring after a sacrifice bunt and RBI single. Looking to add more to their lead in the fifth by loading the bases with no outs, Morgan and the Cougar defense executed three consecutive fielder's choices to get out of the jam.
Trailing by three in the home half of the fifth, the Cougars erupted as all nine players scored a run in the frame to seize a 10-4 lead.
Stoneking began the fun with a leadoff walk before enjoying a trot around the bags on Smith's 5th big fly of the season. Anderson made her return from a two-game hiatus due to injury picking up two hits in the frame, one of those a double to join Sydni Williams' walk in scoring on Krol's double. Adreanna Lance followed with an RBI double and after Ireland Cotton's reach on error, Lexi Dryden concluded Barton's six runs with no outs driving in a run on a single. Smith drove in the eighth run of the frame on a RBI double with Williams' sac fly closing out the big inning producing inning.
The teams traded runs in the sixth, the Broncbusters' leadoff double scoring on a one-out double with the Cougars answering in the home half as Krol's single and Lance's walk began the frame with Dryden delivering an RBI double.
Garden City made things interesting down six to the final seventh inning, beginning with an Allana Neilsen solo home run to begin the at-bat. Julia Carey, who took over in the circle in the sixth, had trouble slowing down the Broncbusters as a walk, single, and consecutive doubles produced four runs to chase her from the contest with Horsch taking over. Inheriting the runner at second with no outs, Horsch induced a fly out and ground out before Stoneking's catch at the fence sealed the game.
Smith and Anderson led Barton's fourteen hits with three each, Smith driving in three runs with Krol and Dryden driving home two each.