Barton wins 3 of 4 at Pratt to even Jayhawk West record

Barton wins 3 of 4 at Pratt to even Jayhawk West record
The Barton Community College baseball team climbed back to the .500 mark in Jayhawk West action this weekend by taking 3 of 4 from Pratt on the road. Barton lost the opener then won the last 3 games at Stanion Field to draw to 8-8 in West action. Barton is now 14-15 overall. The Beavers fell to 3-13 in the West and 6-22 overall. Barton will have a chance to get itself back in contention for the Jayhawk West title this weekend when Seward County visits Lawson-Biggs Field.

Highlights
With a gusty wind blowing in from right during the series – especially Sunday when two 9-3 outs were recorded – the four games didn't produce many runs. The entire series produced just 18 total runs – only 7 of them on Sunday.

Barton's Matt Robertson was a tough-luck loser in the opening game as Barton failed to score for him offensively and a Cougar error in the field produced 4 unearned Pratt runs in the 2nd inning. Pratt added another run in the 4th for the 5-0 margin as the Barton bats collected just 4 hits in the contest off Pratt's Chris LaBorde – 2 by David Allbritton. Robertson fell to 2-2 with the loss.

The Cougars snapped a 4-game skid in the nightcap Saturday with 5 runs in the middle innings for a 5-1 win. Barton trailed 1-0 heading into the 4th when the Cougars scored 3 times to take the lead. Brett Schwartz singled to start the inning and Austin Messerli followed with a double. Lance Woltemath drove in Schwartz with a single and Messerli scored on an error by the Beavers for a 2-1 lead. Woltemath scored later in the inning when Brandon Hoefler drew a bases loaded walk. The Cougars upped the lead to 5-1 in the 5th as Schwartz, Messerli and Woltemath again started off the inning by reaching base. Dustin Phelps provided the big blow with his 2-out single that scored Messerli and Woltemath. It was the 3rd hit of the game for Phelps. Spencer Blades gave up just 3 hits in his 4 innings for work to pick up the win and move to 2-1 on the season. Drew Smith threw the final 3 innings for his 4th save of the year.

Sunday produced even fewer runs as a gusty wind topping 40 mph much of the day continued to blow in. Barton was able to plate a pair of runs in the opener for a 2-0 win as Michael Cotter went the distance to pick up his 2nd win of the year. Cotter allowed just 2 hits and one walk while striking out 6. Cotter retired the Beavers in order in 5 of his 7 innings of work. The Cougars produced just enough on the offensive end to provide Cotter the win. Barton took the lead in the 4th when Allbritton doubled with one out followed by a Messerli single. Blaine Clark singled to score Allbritton and later scored an unearned run for a 2-0 lead. Barton had just 5 hits in the game – including those 3 straight in the big 4th inning.

The Cougars ended the series by rallying for a 3-2 win and the 1st series win for the Cougars in West play. Barton had split 2 of its 1st 3 series. The Cougars scored an unearned run in the 1st when Messerli singled in Kent Urban but Pratt tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the 1st and took a 2-1 lead into the 6th inning. Barton managed to score 2 times in the inning to take a 3-2 lead. The Cougars scored the game-tying run on a Marc Clymer single to drive in Clark. Josh Hoefler scored the eventual game winner on a passed ball with 2 outs in the inning. Andrew Hawkins picked up the win for Barton to improve to 3-2 allowing just 3 hits and 2 runs his 5 innings of work. Smith came on to pitch a perfect final 2 innings for his 5th save of the year.

Barton is currently in 6th place in the West but still play several of the team in front of them starting with Seward this weekend. Seward is 1 of 4 teams with just 5 losses in the conference. Butler is the lone 11-5 team while Seward, Colby, and Garden City all are 7-5. First pitch for both doubleheaders against the Saints this weekend will be at 1 pm Saturday and Sunday.

Stats
Stats can be found at www.bartonccc.edu/sports

Next
March 28-29 – v Seward 1 pm (Jayhawk West series at Lawson-Biggs Field in Great Bend)