Barton Softball rallies for split hosting nationally ranked Neosho County #GoBarton

The Barton Community College softball team stepped out of conference play Monday resulting in a twinbill split hosting Division II 20th ranked Neosho County Community College.

Timely hitting provided Neosho County's 7-5 victory in the opener snapping the Cougars' 10-game win streak followed by game two's back-and-forth battle decided by freshman Karter Alvord's eighth inning walk-off single for an 8-7 victory salving Barton's split.

The Cougars, who now are receiving votes in the latest Division I poll, end the day at 16-6 while Neosho County moves to 11-9 overall.

Barton resumes its three-date homestand and returns to conference play on Thursday hosting Fort Hays Tech Northwest, a contest moved back a day escaping Wednesday's forecasted bad weather. The homestand will then wrap up Saturday in welcoming 15th ranked Butler Community College in a key conference title race twinbill. First pitch of each doubleheader slated for 1:00 p.m. at Cougar Field or available to view online at www.BartonSports.com.

Overall on Monday the teams combined for 45 hits and 32 strikeouts including the combined career high 21 punchouts between Meleia Ingram and Brooklynn Angielski.

Ingram struck out 12 of those in the game one defeat, falling to 8-3 on the season on 9 hits as the Panthers' Ryen Gaddis providing most of the damage going 3-of-4 with 5 RBI including the eventual final two runs coming on a 2-strike, 2-out single.

Laney Wood and Elina Bartlett each collected two hits in the opener, Wood beginning her afternoon with a leadoff home run for her second of the season.

Angielski battled through eight innings of circle time earning the game two victory improving to 7-2 on the season behind a career high tying 9 strikeouts including two coming in the final frame.

Bartlett's pair of hits in each game was joined by Chloe Enslinger's four total hits, three coming in her last three at-bats of the nightcap.

Game One Recap
Wood's solo shot to open Barton's at-bat gave the Cougars the lead through the top of the third until Gaddis' 1-out, two-run producing hit put Neosho in front.

The Panthers' lone error of the day helped Barton tie it back up in the home half as Wood scooted across the plate on the misplay from Aly Lawrence's infield connection.

Barton wouldn't capitalize any further, stranding the bases loaded in the inning and again in the fourth frame despite the bags being full on just one-out.

A pair of hits leading off the Neosho fifth would eventually score on one-out, Gaddis driving in the first with Kamri Naff's lone hit providing the second. Next in line was Annsleigh Morris, striking out in her previous two at-bats against Ingram, laying down a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt scoring the Panthers' third run of the frame.

In the home half, Barton would again load the bases with one out following Peyton McCormick's lone hit, Mia Mascarenas being hit by a pitch, and Bartlett's single but would only plate one coming on Morgan Thatcher's sacrifice fly.

Neosho produced the eventual game winners with two outs in the sixth, Gaddis capping her big opener by delivering a 2-strike single pushing the Panthers' lead to 7-3.

The Cougars' seventh inning rally fell two runs shy, getting a little help to begin the frame on a wild pitch third strike allowing Mascarenas to reach base. A line-out later, Thatcher's double down the line put two aboard with Alvord cutting the deficit in half on the freshman's fifth double of the season to later become Barton's 12th runner stranded in the contest.

Game Two Recap
The backend of the twinbill was a back-n-forth affair, Neosho taking the early lead with a bases loaded Naff single before Barton got the run back in the second frame on Mascarenas' run producing double.

Following a scoreless third, the lone goose egg inning of the contest, consecutive doubles leading off the fourth put Neosho back in front.

The Cougars would answer with three in the home half to gain their first lead. Masacarenas and Thatcher walks would get the inning started, scoring one batter later on Wood's fourth double of the season. Two outs later Ensligner's single put the Cougars up two by driving in her team leading 38th run.

The lead was short lived as a pair of fifth inning leadoff infield hits set the stage for a two-run Panther answer coming on one-out and two-out RBI hits.

Still tied at four into the sixth inning, the Cougars rallied on two-outs getting consecutive two-bag connections from Enslinger and McCormick in taking a 5-4 lead to the seventh.

Neosho immediately loaded the bases in their comeback but the Cougars were on the very of escaping damage as a Panther was ruled leaving early on a tag from a lined out to left. Down to their final out, Makenzi Escoe, who took over in the circle in the fourth inning and laid down a sac bunt extending the fifth frame leading to a run, made the most of her first official at-bat by delivering the tying RBI hit.

Following a three-up, three-down Barton seventh, the teams headed to extra frames utilizing the international tiebreaker system placing a runner at second to begin each team's at-bat.

A leadoff double put the Panthers on top but Angielski struck out the next two batters in appearing to halt the damage until Addison Bloodgood completed her 3-of-4 game and five hit afternoon out of the No. 9 hole with an RBI single digging Barton a two-run deficit.

An infield pop-up began Barton's at-bat but consecutive doubles by Lawrence and Bartlett quickly tied the game at seven. Enslinger's following hit chased Escoe from the game with the Panthers bringing back game one victor Eleanor Rieck. McCormick then reached on a fielder's choice loading the bags setting up Alvord's deliverance of the walk-off RBI driving a hard ground ball right back up the middle.