Dryden Howse provided the key knock on Saturday delivering a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Barton Community College baseball team to a come from behind 5-4 victory over Garden City Community College in the opener at Lawson-Biggs Field.
Jordan Ellison supplied the knockout blow in the nightcap blasting his second grand slam of the season in the eighth to defeat Garden City 12-5 in the series finale, sweeping the four game weekend set.
Claiming their third weekend series victory through four conference tussle's, the Cougars sit a game back of Colby Community College in the KJCCC West standings at 12-4 improving their overall mark to 22-9 while the Broncbusters suffer their second conference series defeat dropping to 3-9 in league play and falling to 10-22-1 on the season.
Barton's next action comes Tuesday in hosting a 5:00 p.m. non-conference nine-inning affair against the Larks of Hesston College before beginning a key conference series in welcoming in the Blue Dragons of Hutchinson Community College on Thursday with the backend shifting to Hutchinson's Hobart-Detter Stadium on Saturday.
Game 1 Recap
Howse's walk-off double in the opener capped a three-run rally for the Cougars, who trailed 4-2 after the sixth inning.
A leadoff Cougar error to open the contest fueled a two-run Broncbuster lead getting an RBI Geoff Marlow double and Ryan Muniz sacrifice fly.
Held to just two hits through the opening five innings, Barton recorded both knocks in the home half of the first as a Connor Allen two-out RBI single to left drove in Alex Rodgers leadoff single cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Starters George Hettrick and Owen Reynolds zoned in on the bump over the next four innings with Reynolds surrendering the lone hit between the duo working around a 2-out single in the third. Hettrick worked around a hit-by-pitch in the second before sending eighth straight Cougar batters down with a one-out Joel Neives walk and two-out Rodgers walk in the fifth presenting Baton its' first scoring threat since the opening frame.
In the sixth, Garden City extended their lead to 4-1 scratching across a pair of runs fueled on a one-out Dylan Garcia single and Barton miscue.
Henry Hayman halted a four inning Barton hitless stretch with a leadoff single to center giving the Cougars just their third knock of the day. Chandler Miller sliced the margin in half at 4-2 two batters later gapping a two-out RBI triple to right making it 4-2.
Recording the final out of the sixth, reliever Bryan Bartels tossed a 1-2-3 top of the seventh holding the deficit at 4-2.
The Cougars put the tying run at the plate succeeding a Colter Maldonado fielder's choice washing away Nieves' leadoff single in the seventh. Flipping the lineup to the top of the order, Rodgers produced Barton's second knock of the inning singling to center with a Garden City error on the play trimming the margin to one bringing around Maldonado. Ricardo Sanchez knotted the game up on the first pitch he saw with an RBI bloop single to center, advancing into scoring position on the Broncbusters second error of the inning. Following a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Conner Allen drew a four-pitch walk setting up Howse's 1-0 count walk off double to center.
Reynolds surrendered four runs all unearned on three hits over 5.2-innings, walking four and striking out eight earning a no-decision.
Bartels moved to 2-0 on the season pitching in relief retiring all four batters he faced while striking out one.
Game 2 Recap
The Cougars patched together four two-run innings with a four-run eighth breaking the doors open in the nightcap.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Sanchez and Hayman produced back-to-back RBIs handing Barton the lead for good. Sanchez knotted the contest up with a one-out triple driving in a Rodgers single three pitches prior. Two pitches later Hayman provided the go-ahead tally with a sacrifice fly crossing home Sanchez.
Barton upped the lead to 4-1 with a RBI single by Nieves that scored an Ellison leadoff double. Swiping second, Nieves would tack on the second tally stealing third advancing home on an errant Broncbuster throw down.
In the sixth, it would be Ellison and Nieves highlighting another two-run inning. Ellison got things a cooking stringing the first of three straight Cougar singles with Maldonado driving in the first run. Sanchez extended the Barton advantage to 6-1 generating his second run producer on a sacrifice fly to left plating Nieves single.
Giving up a run in the top of the seventh, the Cougar sticks answered piecing its' fourth two-run marker on the scoreboard with Allen and Howse recording back-to-back triples to open the home seventh. Miller made it three straight knocks two pitches later driving in Howse on an RBI single to center making it 8-2.
Chipping away one final time in the eighth, the Broncbusters cut the deficit in half making it 8-4 as three straight two-out singles accounted for the first run with a Barton error fabricating the second.
The Barton bats got back to work in the home eighth loading the bases on a Hayman one-out single, Allen one-out walk and Miller two-out hit-by-pitch. Ellison delivered the knockout punch two pitches later tattering a 1-1 pitch to left center for his second grand slam of the season and sixth round tripper of the season.
Garden City tacked the final tally in the ninth with back-to-back doubles by Garcia and Muniz settling the final margin at 12-5.
Making his first collegiate start David Stuart worked four innings allowing one run, unearned surrendering four hits, walking two and fanning a pair earning a no-decision.
Ian Lanik improved to 3-1 on the season working 2.1-innings out of the bullpen striking out four allowing four hits and one run to cross.