‘Pack the Bleachers’ promotion for Barton Region VI playoff series; free tickets available with prizes to be given away during the games Saturday

'Pack the Bleachers' promotion for Barton Region VI playoff series; free tickets available with prizes to be given away during the games Saturday
The Barton County Community College baseball team will bring the No. 2 seed from the Jayhawk West in the upcoming Region VI Championships and a right to go on to the NJCAA World Series in late May. Barton will host a 1st round series this weekend at Jimmy Lawson Field. The format will be the best 2-of-3 with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday if needed. The games Saturday will be begin at 2 pm with Sunday's contest also set for 2 pm. Barton (32-21) will host Independence (22-31) in the series. Free tickets for Saturday's doubleheader can be picked up for the game at various sponsors of 'Pack the Bleachers' day at Lawson Field. Tickets must be picked up at the locations in order to receive free entry into the game, otherwise, tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for high school and under at the gate.

Tickets are free for Saturday's doubleheader thanks to donations from Great Bend Feeding, Insurance Planning, Niedens Construction, Landmark National Bank, The Tribune, Bird Oil, Venture Corporation, and The Buckle. Free tickets will be available at The Buckle, The Tribune, Bird Express at 10th and Main as well as Phillips 66 in Hoisington.

Construction has been taking place at the ball park this season, giving fans permanent stands for use this weekend. Most of the stands are complete as construction continues on improvements to Lawson Field. Barton Baseball and Booster Club shirts and hats will be given away during the games Saturday as well.

The Cougars have been nearly unbeatable at home this season, especially since Jayhawk West play started. Barton was 12-4 at home this season in West. Barton swept through its conference foes at Lawson Field, including 4 wins in the bottom of the 7th inning. Overall this season, the Cougars are 21-7 in the friendly, yet ever-changing, confines of Lawson Field. The Cougars have won a total of 6 games in their final at bat this season and have a 12-5 record in 1-run games. Barton is 11-2 in its last 13 1-run games.

The Cougars boast one of the top pitching staffs in the West, anchored by relief pitcher Chad Lee. Lee, who has signed to play at the University of Oklahoma next season, will more than likely be taken in the first 10 rounds of the upcoming Major League Baseball draft. Lee, who throws in the mid 90's, was tabbed by Baseball America recently as the top junior college prospect not under control of a major league team. Lee has never been drafted. He has 49 strike outs in 40 innings. Hays native Brock Nehls has been the ace of the starting rotation, posting a 6-3 record with a 2.72 ERA. Another relief pitcher, Nathan Hedrick, has the best ERA on the club at 2.43. He has a 6-1 record and 9 saves out of the bullpen thanks to the late heroics of Barton this season.

Offensively, Barton has picked up its play as the season has gone along. The team struggled to score runs early in the season, hitting bottom during Spring Break when the team scored 18 runs in a 6-game stretch that saw them go 1-5. But since that time, the Cougars have averaged just less than 7 runs per contest. During West action, Barton averaged 6.8 runs a contest.

Barton now has 8 players hitting better than .300 this season, led by freshman outfielder Austin Holt at .421. Holt also leads the team in home runs (5), RBI (38), runs (49) and stolen bases (23) from his leadoff spot in the order. He will bring a 17-game hitting streak into the contest. During that streak, Holt is hitting .525, drove in 14 runs and scored 20 times. Sophomore catcher Erik Whinery is hitting .371 with a team-leading 16 doubles. He also has 30 RBI and has thrown out nearly 1/2 of the base runners attempting to steal base on him from his catcher's spot.

Also among the team leaders in RBI this season are David Wilson, Brent Biggs, and Wade Gubbels. Wilson had 37 RBI to go with his .304 batting average, 43 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. Biggs is 3rd in RBI at 35 has scored 34 runs and leads the team with 19 sacrifices. Gubbels has 4 homers and 34 RBI for the Cougars. Tyler Metcalf has been a hot hitter of late for Barton, sporting an 11-game hitting streak heading into the weekend. He is hitting .471 during that stretch with 2 homers and 13 RBI. Metcalf is hitting .327 with 22 RBI for the season.

Stats
Complete stats can be found at www.bartonccc.edu

Next
Sat, April 29 – v Independence, 2 pm (Region VI 1st round series at Lawson Field in Great Bend)