Cougars drop two at MCC-Longview

The Barton Community College baseball team dropped Saturday's doubleheader in Lee's Summit, Missouri, falling to the host MCC-Longview 9-0 and 13-8.  Held to one hit in the opener, the Cougars outhit the Lakers 14-12 in the nightcap to drop the first two of the weekend's four game series.  Barton falls to 11-14 on the season while MCC-Longview improves to 11-10 going into Sunday's noon doubleheader.  

MCC-Longview hit the first two of their four home runs in the contest with consecutive two-out long balls to take a 3-0 first inning lead.  The Lakers again played long ball in the home half of the third getting a one-out two-run homer then one out later added a solo shot in building a 6-0 lead.

The Lakers tacked on three more in the sixth with the help the Cougar defense committing three errors in the inning, finishing with five total in the 9-0 loss.

Jordan Plank took his first loss on the season dropping to 5-1 surrendering six runs, a walk, and four strikeouts in three innings of work. 

Jacob Richardson began the nightcap with his lone hit in the twin bill singling to right field. Following a Trevor Turner sacrifice, Richardson scored from second as Evan McDonald reached via an infield error.

Willie Brown added his name to the Lakers' six home runs on the day with a three-run blast to right field in the second.  Matt Safranek, who hit two home runs in the first game, delivered a one-out triple in the third scoring on Nick Stein's single pushing the Laker lead out to 6-1.

The Cougars got two back in the fourth as Lance White led off the inning with his second homerun of the season before consecutive doubles off the bats of Tyler Jennings and Dayton Pomeroy cut the deficit to three.

MCC got one back in the home half as a double followed a two-out walk kicking the lead back out to four.  The Cougars' McDonald led off the Barton fifth with a triple setting up White's second run batted in for the game as the freshman single to left field cutting the deficit back to three.

With Lyons native Ryan McClure sending the Lakers down in order in the fifth, Barton kept the bats rolling in the top of sixth.  Pomeroy led off the inning with a single then crossed the plate on the first of Josh Farrington's two doubles in the game.  Farrington would go on to score two batters later from McDonald's sacrifice and Turner's groundout to short stop cutting the deficit to one.  

Consecutive walks by the Lakers led off the home half with a double, hit by pitch, single, and sacrifice fly chased McClure from the game giving way to Shane Adams with two runners aboard and one out as MCC had increased their lead out to four.  The Lakers would tack on two more from a single and infield error giving MCC a 12-6 advantage.

Barton went down in order in the eighth and MCC immediately went back to work with a leadoff walk and a one-out walk. Tristan Hall inherited a 1st & 2nd situation from Adams and after the Lakers tacked on one more off a single and wild pitch, the Great Bend native came back with his first collegiate strikeouts catching two of last three batters looking.

Pomeroy struck for his third hit of the game with a one-out single scoring on Farrington's second double of game cutting the deficit to six.  Hall recorded another strikeout in the eighth and a Farrington-McDonald-Pomeroy double play erased two hit batsman in the inning as the Cougars needed a big ninth inning rally trailing by six. 

McDonald did his part leading off the final inning with his second homerun of the season but the Cougars stranded a Minor hit by pitch and White single to fall 13-8.

Four Cougars had multi-hit games as Barton outslugged the Lakers 14-12.  The trio of White, Pomeroy, and Farrington each went 3-for-4 helping the six through nine spots in the lineup produce ten hits, three RBI's, and five runs scored.  McDonald was the other multi-hit performance going 2-for-5 in the three-hole with an RBI and two runs scored.

Cody Brewer took the loss dropping to 2-4 on the season giving up seven hits, six runs, walking three, while striking out four.