The Barton Community College softball team couldn't recover from a disappointing first game loss in dropping a conference doubleheader Wednesday at Colby Community College. The Lady Cougars squandered a seven run fifth inning lead surrendering eight runs in the final three innings to lose 10-9. Barton again led early in game two but Colby scored two in each of the first two innings then broke a fourth inning tie with a single run to send the Lady Cougars to a 5-4 loss. The pair of losses sends the Lady Cougars on a six-game skid dropping to 18-17 on the season and 3-9 in Jayhawk Conference play while Colby improves to 11-30 and 3-11 in conference. Barton will have a week to regroup before No. 7 ranked Butler Community College comes to Cougar Field next Wednesday for a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader.
Game One
Barton jumped on Colby early as Bailey Hensley hit her third home run of the season, all coming leading off an inning. Allison Smith followed three batters later with her fourth long ball of the season scoring Emilia Davies who doubled to left a batter earlier. Smith's 2-4 performance was joined by Darby Grizzard to reach multi-hits in the game. Batting out of the ninth spot in the lineup, Grizzard went 2-3 driving in a team high four runs with three coming on a two-out bases clearing double to center.
Barton led 9-2 in the fifth but as the Barton bats went cold, getting one hit in final six at-bats, Colby heated up with nine of their eleven hits coming in the final three innings. The Trojans won the game reaching base on the third Barton error of the game and scoring the game winner with two-out bases-loaded walk-off free pass coming on Barton's second consecutive walk.
Jaylyn Monhollon pitched the last 1.2 innings to take the loss in dropping to 8-9 on the season surrendering only two hits but walking five of the thirteen batters she face. Starting pitcher Ashlyn Osborne took the no-decision allowing eight runs on nine hits and walking three while striking out four in 5.0 innings of work.
Game Two
Hensley started game two much like she started game one, giving the Lady Cougars an early boost leading off the game with a double. Smith delivered a two-out single to give Barton the early one run lead. Colby answered with a pair in the home half getting the benefit of an infield error resulting on one of the two runs.
Great Bend native Stephanie Morrison tied the game the very next inning with her first collegiate homerun with a solo one-out drive to left field. Colby answered in the home half with two hits and three walks leaving the bases loaded but taking a 4-2 lead in the process.
Hitting her second double of the doubleheader, Davies hit her third best in the nation 22nd two-bagger to lead off the third but became one of eight Lady Cougars to be stranded in the game.
Britney Meyer made it two consecutive innings Barton began the inning with a double leading off with a shot to right field. Down to the final out in the inning, Hensley got her second homerun of the day driving home Meyer with the right field round tripper to tie the contest at four apiece. But Colby answered in the bottom of the inning with three singles to take the 5-4 lead.
With the top of the lineup due up in the Barton seventh, Bollig and Davies one-out consecutive singles gave Barton the opportunity for a comeback. A big strikeout of Smith took Barton to its last out but Osborne walked to load the bases. Colby's Natalie Elmgreen induced a fly out to right field to end the Barton threat and send the Lady Cougars to their sixth straight loss.
Osborne took the loss for Barton pitching the full 6.0 innings giving up only six hits but walking five and striking out two. Osborne drops to 10-7 on the season while Elmgreen, who gave up eleven hits but only walked one and struck out three, improved to 3-6 on the season.
Hensley, Davies, and Morrison each had two hits leading Barton's 11-6 hit advantage over the Lady Trojans.