Cougars blast Highland for second time, split weekend games in Oklahoma

The Barton Community College baseball team scored twelve runs in the final three innings Sunday winning 17-7 in a walk-off shortened seven innings over Highland Community College.   The victory was the second over the Scotties on the weekend racking up thirty-two runs and earned the Cougars a split of its trip to Poteau, Oklahoma, having lost a pair to host Carl Albert State College.   Barton will return to Oklahoma for its next weekend series playing three games at Rose State College in Midwest City beginning on Saturday.

Barton would pound out eleven hits Sunday getting a leadoff single by Cole Henley producing the first of Michael Sinks' three RBI in the game.   The Cougars tacked on more runs in the second as Ryan Schippers led off the inning with a double followed by Derek Johnson's single setting the stage for Dakota Nave RBI single.  Barton would finish the inning with four three more runs jumping out to the early 5-0 lead.

The Cougars were hospitable in the top of the third as starter Austin Taylor had trouble with the strike zone and defensive blunders led to seven Scottie runs coming with two outs and on only two hits, both of which were doubles.

Moving along to the fifth inning with the Cougars still trailing 7-5, a Highland error would allow Matthew Baca aboard cutting the deficit in half after a wild pitch and Corrigan Bartlett's RBI single.  One out later Raymore, Missouri, freshman Derek Johnson's first collegiate homerun would plate two giving the good guys an 8-7 lead.

Four more runs came across the board in the sixth as Alan Clark drew his second walk of the game later scoring after stealing second then crossing the plate on an infield error of the bat of Michael Sinks.  Baca followed with a single to left before Bartlett completed his four RBI game getting his first collegiate home run as the Maize freshman drove a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall.  

Things got messing for the Scotties in the seventh as Johnson reached on error, Ryan McClure walked, and Nave reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases.  Clark was then plunked to drive home a run but the Scotties came back to roll up a double play to clear the bases as McClure scored for the second run of the inning.   Sinks then reset the diamond with a single to center before Baca put the game away as the Goddard High School graduate drove the first pitch he saw over the left field fence marking his first collegiate round tripper in walk-off fashion.

Even with the forgettable third inning, the pitching trio of Taylor, Daniel Kohl, and Taylor Langston locked down the Scotties surrendering only four hits and recording seven strikeouts.  Baca, Bartlett, and Johnson each had multi-hit games with Johnson making the most of his first collegiate start going 3-for-4 at the plate including his fifth inning homerun and two runs batted in.