Cougars take the nine-inning games in splitting weekend series at Garden City

The Barton Community College baseball team concluded their four-game series in Garden City with a split Saturday to earn a series split with Garden City Community College.   The Broncbusters took both the seven inning contests by 12-2 and 10-4 scores while the Cougars took the nine inning nightcaps each day 5-3 and 14-9.   The series leaves Barton at 10-10 in the Jayhawk West and 18-19 on the season while Garden City stands at 14-10 and 24-16.  The Cougars will step out of conference play Tuesday for a 5:00 p.m. nine-inning contest hosting the junior varsity from Bethany College before turning attention to a pivotal four-game three-day series hosting Hutchinson Community College beginning at 6:00 p.m. Friday.

Garden City opened the series building a 5-0 third inning lead.  Fifth inning singles by Dylan Kuhn and Evan McDonald preceded an RBI single by Grant Watkins and Bryce Minor reaching on error as the Cougars cut the deficit to three.  Two innings later the Broncbusters would prevent the game from going a full seven innings by plating seven runs to run-rule the Cougars 12-2 in the sixth.

The Broncbusters carried the momentum into the night cap taking a one run first inning lead on a two-out single and triple.  The Cougars answered in the third getting a two-out Jacob Richardson single scoring Seth Troll who drew a walk to lead off the inning.  

A single Garden City run in the fifth would regain the Broncbuster lead until the seventh as a walk, hit batsman, two errors and a single by Troll turned the tide to a 3-2 Barton lead.  

The Cougars got much needed insurance runs in the eighth getting a McDonald leadoff single followed by a Watkins double and singles by Lance White and Troll to produce a three-run inning pushing the lead out to 6-2.  A one-out single advancing to third on a pickoff attempt followed by a double would score one but that's all the Broncbusters could manage on reliever Jackson Rose preserving the win for Jordan Plank in snapping a two-game losing streak to improving to 6-2.

Saturday didn't start out well for Barton as Garden City jumped out to a 9-0 lead through only three innings of play.   The Cougars attempted to rally picking up two runs in the fifth and sixth innings but it was too little too late as Garden City tacked on a single run in the sixth to win 10-4.

Troll set up the fifth with a two-out double followed by a Trevor Turner walk.  A wild pitch later, Kuhn delivered a single up the middle giving Barton their first two runs.  

McDonald led off the sixth with a single and after a Watkins sacrifice, Tyler Jennings drove an opposite field double to the wall scoring McDonald.  Jennings would round out the scoring coming home following a Xaiver Sundman groundout and a wild pitch.

In Saturday's second game, again it was the Broncbusters taking an early one-run lead.  The lead didn't last as a Trevor Hughes one-out walk followed by a Turner single set the stage for a big Cougar innings.  Richardson's RBI double tied it up and one batter later Kuhn's grounder to shortstop was misplayed allowing Turner to cross the plate giving Barton the lead.  An RBI single by McDonald and Kuhn scoring on another Garden City error took the lead out to three.  The big blow in the inning came one batter later as Dayton Pomeroy drove a 1-2 pitch over the left field scoreboard driving in three runs on his second homerun of the season.

Garden City would get two back in the home half as a leadoff hit batsman would score on a triple then a sacrifice fly would cut Barton's lead to four after two complete.

Hughes led off the third with a walk advancing to second on Turner's sac bunt. Richardson then came through with a double to the gap pushing Barton's lead to 8-3.

The Cougars would tack on two more in the next inning getting a Josh Farrington leadoff single followed by one-out Pomeroy double and a Hughes two-out 2-RBI double. 

Garden City's third error helped the Cougars add another in the sixth as Bryce minor advanced to second on the error scoring on Turner's two-out single.  The Broncbuster would counter with one of their own in the home half getting a one-out double and two-out RBI single.

Barton put the game within run-rule in the seventh scoring three runs. McDonald drew a one-out walk advancing  to third on Farrington single up the middle before Watkins RBI single increased the lead out to eight. Following a Pomeroy walk to load the bases and a Troll pinch hit sac fly to deep left center, Hughes sent a liner up middle scores building the lead out to ten.  

Needing a run to stay alive, Garden City did that and more getting two across the plate with a leadoff double, triple, and RBI groundout.  

Things got a little interesting in the ninth as three consecutive walks immediately gave Garden City the bases loaded.  Following a 2-RBI single, Rose relieved Shane Adams surrendering a wild pitch scoring one but induced a groundout and game clinching strikeout giving Barton the 14-9 victory.