Owen Reynolds tossed six-plus innings allowing just one hit and Ricardo Sanchez and Connor Allen drove in three apiece to lead the Barton Community College baseball team to a Sunday afternoon split doubleheader with the T-Birds of Cloud County Community College from Lee Doyan Field in Concordia, KS.
Reynolds was sensational in the opener tossing four hitless frames with the Cougar bats generating six runs over the final three frames including a four run seventh clinching the weekend series with an 8-2 victory before a late comeback bid in the series finale fell short 6-5.
Taking three of four on the weekend, Barton sits a game atop the KJCCC West standings at 21-7 and 36-15 overall with one week remaining while the T-Birds slip to third in the Jayhawk standings at 21-11 and 38-15 overall.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Cougars will begin its' march toward a conference crown Thursday in a road trip against the second place Colby Community College Trojans. The first end of the doubleheader is slated for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch from Young Memorial Field in Colby, KS with the backend shifting to Lawson-Biggs Field on Saturday in a 1:00 p.m twin bill.
Game 1
Barton jumped out to an early 2-0 edge in the top of the first as a Henry Hayman single drove in Alex Rodgers leadoff double with an Allen RBI groundout two batters later brought home a Sanchez walk.
Cloud County would cut the lead in half despite being held hitless benefitting on a leadoff hit-by-pitch and pair of wild pitches. Starting hurler Reynolds was nails from then on sending the T-Birds down in order over the next three innings and recording four of his seven strikeouts improving to 6-0 on the campaign.
Preserving a one run lead over the next three frames, a dropped third strike to Joel Nieves opened the fifth sparking an insurance run for the Cougars with a wild pitch and stolen base setting up a Rodgers sacrifice fly widening the lead back to two runs, 3-1.
Having tossed 4.1-innings of hitless ball, Reynold lone mistake came with one out in the fifth as Cloud County's Kolden Howerton broke up the no-hit bid sending a solo-shot to right center trimming the Barton lead back to one.
Steadily putting pressure on the Cloud County defense, the Cougars cashed in once more as a leadoff error allowing Shawn Marquis to reach in the sixth would lead to a Jace Stewart sacrifice fly extending the advantage out to 4-2.
Breaking things open in the seventh, Barton mounted together a four spot as Sanchez extended his single season doubles record to 31 knocking in a Rodgers hit-by-pitch to start the frame. The Cougar lead grew larger the very next batter as Hayman swapped spots with Sanchez lacing the second straight RBI double. The big inning prolonged two batters later with Allen legging out an RBI triple and Marquis ensuing with the fourth run of the frame on an RBI single.
Succeeding a leadoff walk issued by Reynolds, the Cougars called upon Carson Cornelius for the final three outs as the freshman got the only three batters he faced.
Game 2
Facing a 4-0 deficit after four innings, the Barton offense broke through in the fifth collecting their first hit and run of the game with Allen blasting a leadoff home run to left for his team leading ninth of the season.
Stranding a pair of T-Bird runners in the home fifth, the Cougars continued to hang around the chicken coup as a Hayman one-out single, Dryden Howse two-out double and Allen walk loaded the bags. The deficit erased to one following Marquis reaching on a fielder's choice and advancing to second on the T-Bird miscue plating in a pair. Sitting out in the opener Colter Maldonado looked to have delivered the tying run with one of his three hits in the nightcap but a perfectly thrown strike to the plate from left gunned out the potential tying run in Marquis keeping the score 4-3.
The one run deficit would grow into a two and eventual three-run deficit with the T-Birds adding a run in both the sixth and seventh.
Down to the final three outs, Barton placed the tying run at the plate succeeding a Maldonado leadoff single and Nieves one-out infield bunt single. Down to the final out and strike, Sanchez roped a near game-tying home run to right center driving in a pair cutting the deficit to one with his program single season best 32nd double. The rally attempt fell just short as a check swing strikeout on a 2-2 count called for a strike halted the comeback bid.
Starter Tegan Cain (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season tossing three innings scattering four hits, four runs, walking one and striking out a pair.
Logan Redeker tossed 0.1-innings getting out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth inducing a fielder's choice to keep the deficit at 6-3.
Offensively Maldonado led the Barton bats in the seven-hole turning in a 3-for-4 day with Nieves producing the other lone multi-hit performance going 2-for-4.