Cougar Baseball and Thunderbirds trade one-run victories

For the second time in three games, a ninth inning rally fell a run short as the No. 18 ranked Barton Community College baseball team split Friday's doubleheader with Cloud County Community College.  Barton plated five runs in the opener's third inning to hold off the T-Birds 5-4 but the tide flipped in the night cap with Cloud County being the one to put up a five-run third inning to gain the edge before capitalizing on the fourth Barton error of the game providing the winning run in a 10-9 score.  The split ended Barton's hopes of chasing the Jayhawk West crown while tightening up the chase for second place as the Cougars come back to the field at 20-10 and 39-15 overall.  In its own chase to hold on to the sixth place in the West, Cloud County moved one step closer opening up a two game lead over Butler at 11-19 and 26-28 on the season.  Due to forecasted weather rolling through the area, the final two games of the series at Lawson-Biggs Field have been pushed back to Monday beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Corrigan Bartlett was torrid at the plate with a 5-for-7 day driving in two runs connecting on four doubles and a triple.  His first double of the day sparked a two-out third inning, driving a two-bagger to left field as Barton would score five in the inning proving to be the difference.

Beginning the contest with a triple and RBI single, the T-Birds began chipping away at the four run deficit picking up an unearned fourth inning run.  Getting to winning pitcher Garret Rogers in the sixth with a double and consecutive singles followed by an error to plate one, Taylor Langston came in for relief surrendering just a sac fly as Cloud County closed the gap to 5-4.

Langston finished out the seventh earning his fifth save of the year preserving the victory for Rogers improving to 6-5 on the year.  Despite striking out seven and allowing just one earned run, Gabriel Jacobo took the loss dropping to 3-4. 

In game two with the Cougars trailing 6-1, Bartlett followed Michal Sinks' team leading 12th home run of the year leading off the third, with his third double of the day to eventually score the second of three runs in the frame.  As he did in the first game, Bartlett kept another inning alive with his fourth inning double as the Cougars again struck for three as Trey Pittman's team leading sixth triple of the year drove in two putting Barton ahead 7-6.

Cloud County would tie it up in the seventh with a solo run then took a two run lead in the eighth taking advantage of a leadoff hit by pitch and error to string consecutive RBI singles.

Coming to the plate with one-out in the home half, Bartlett laced a triple down the right field line scoring Alan Clark, scoring one batter later as Dawson Pomeroy drove a double to left for the tying run.  

Barton's fourth error of the nightcap and eighth of the day was magnified in providing the winning run as a one-out sac bunt turned into a three base error providing the winning run.  Pomeroy, who moved from third base to the hill to close out the seventh, kept the damage to one striking out the final two batters.

Getting one-out singles from Taylor Langston and Bryce Baumwart, the Cougars eventually had runners at second and third.  With Langston tagging up on Clark's fly out and pinch runner Derek Johnson swiping second base, winning pitcher John Stiger ensured the Cougars would have a long weekend to stew on the doubleheader split getting Sinks to line out to centerfield.

Pomeroy took the loss with his 2.1 innings of work dropping to 3-1 on the season with Stiger improving to 5-5.