After winning its opening round game on Friday, the Barton Community College softball team dropped consecutive games Saturday to end the season in day two of the Region VI Tournament at Dodge City's Legends Park.
The Cougars battled the top seeded 14th ranked Hutchinson Community College in the noon winner's bracket semifinal, tied at three in the fourth inning before falling 6-4.
Bounced to the elimination portion of the bracket, the Cougars' missed opportunities proved costly in falling 3-2 to host Dodge City Community as the Conquistadors got the final avengement of Barton's four large margin wins in the season series.
Barton completes the 2022-23 season at 30-22 in Head Coach Carson DuBose's first season.
Recap versus Hutchinson
Hutchinson took the early lead in the their first at-bat, a leadoff walk scoring on a sacrifice fly, before adding two more in the third frame as a hit by pitch and single scored on a groundout and two-out double.
Barton got the equalizer in the fourth, Jaysa Anderson producing a one-out single with Kayden Smith drawing a two-out walk as Jenna Henderson blasted her 9th home run of the year tying it up.
Jessica Morgan pitched the first three innings, giving way to Kayla Beers for the home half of the fourth.
The Blue Dragons greeted Beers with a leadoff double and following a hit by pitch, Beers struck out the next two batters before an RBI double kept the inning alive while a 2-RBI single ensued pushing Hutchinson's lead to 6-3.
After a quiet fifth inning, the Cougars loaded the bases to begin the sixth on reliever Riley Wertz, getting Sydni Williams and Anderson hits with Calli McConnell reaching on hit by pitch. Wertz fired back with a strikeout and infield pop-up but couldn't find the strike zone as Leslie Ramos' walk pushed one run across. Lani Dryden battled on a 1-2 count but four pitches later Wertz caught the freshman looking on a called strike.
Kaylee Richardson kept the Blue Dragons quiet in the fifth and sixth, but Wertz also kept the Cougars in check with the sixth inning performance and sending Barton down in order in the seventh.
Barton outhit Hutchinson 6-5, Anderson leading in going 2-of-3 from the plate.
Beers took the loss in her lone inning of work dropping to 6-3 on the year while Morgan Pennycuff improved to 16-2 for Hutchinson as Wertz earned her 7th save.
Recap versus Dodge City
The Cougars had outscored the Conquistadors 19-3 in eleven innings of action on Dodge City's home turf in March and 31-5 in twelve innings of play on Barton's home turf on April 27.
Saturday and playoff tournament action were a new season with Dodge City getting the final revenge of the season.
Dodge City played the earlier 10:00 a.m. contest, prevailing 5-4 over Seward County to keep its season alive.
Fresh off its hard fought noon loss to the Blue Dragons, Barton appeared sharp early in its matchup with Dodge City in taking the early lead.
After Beers sent the Conquistadors down in order in the top of the frame, Halie Stoneking connected on her 12th double of the year in what would be her lone hit of the tournament and 74th hit of the season for 8th most in Cougar single season history.
Barton benefitted by three walks in the inning to push across a run, McConnell's coming with one out with Williams drawing her program single season 4th most 26th free pass in loading the bases with two outs setting up Kayden Smith's RBI trot to first base.
The favor was returned in the second frame, Dodge City drawing a pair of one-out walks with a hit loading the bases. Getting one across on an infield error, the Conquistadors' extended life in the frame allowed another at-bat resulting in a go-ahead single.
Increasing her program single season hit by pitch count to 17, Ramos then stole second in scoring one batter later on Lani Dryden's single. Twin sister Laci Dryden joined her on the bags in drawing a walk but a double-play ended the Cougars' threat to take the lead.
Following a relatively quiet third inning, an error to begin the fourth would prove to be the difference maker as Barton committed its second error of the frame in a costly two-out mistake putting Dodge City ahead 3-2.
The score would stand through Barton's final four frames of at-bats, the Cougars stranding one in the fourth, two in the fifth, and another single runner in the each of the sixth and seventh innings.
Outhitting its second opponent of the day 6-5, Anderson again led the Cougars with two hits to finish her Barton career tied for 4th most in a single season at 79 total. Lani Dryden also had two of Barton's connections joining Smith with the lone runs batted in.
Beers also took another loss on the day, concluding her super-sophomore season at 6-4, with Dodge City's K'Lee Flores improving to 11-15 after pitching the final 6.1 innings. Richardson also made her second appearance of the day after pitching two scoreless innings against Hutchinson, hurling the final 3.1 innings giving the Cougars chances in walking just one and striking out three.