11th ranked Barton Baseball takes control of middle innings for win over North Iowa #GoBarton

The No. 11 ranked Barton Community College baseball team plated eight runs in the middle innings of Tuesday's non-conference game at Lawson-Biggs Field to earn an 11-7 victory over Division II receiving votes North Iowa Area Community College. The Cougars improve to 17-4 on the season while North Iowa drops to 6-8 overall. Barton returns to conference play on Thursday with a doubleheader at Garden City Community College. First pitch slated for 12:00 p.m.

Barton starting hurler Tanner Howe appeared to get out a one-out single but the Cougars committed the first of two errors in the game leading to an unearned run as Ben Komonosky knocked the first of his four RBI on the day.

Brett Bonar was the answer for the Cougars with a two-out double driving in Kaden Fowler's one-out single tying the game after one.

Another two-out error allowed North Iowa to break the tie as again Komonosky delivered with the run producing single giving the Trojans a 3-1 lead in the top of the third.

Austin Taylor pitched a 1-2-3 fourth inning with Bonar again leading the Cougars back with a leadoff double for the home half of the frame for the Rose Hill sophomore's eleventh two-bagger of the season. One out later it was the Cougars' turn to benefit from a Trojan miscue allowing Tim Bell to reach and Bonar to score tying it up before Chandler Kelley's line drive single to center plated Bell for the go ahead run. Another miscue would keep the inning alive and pushed Kelley across the plate for the three-run inning and the 4-2 lead through four innings.

Patrick McClure took the hill for the fifth, being greeted by a Joey Werner leadoff single before Fox Leum's drive down the line clipped the first base bag resulting in an unlucky hop for the Cougars. Leum's double cut the deficit to one then stole second as the Trojans threatened to tie it up with one-out. McClure regrouped for a four pitch strikeout then gave the ball to Easton Smith to hang the fan the dangerous Komonosky to end the inning.

A Trojan two-base outfield error led to Jared Maneth in scoring position with Bonar driving in his third run of the day and team leading 28th with a single to center to push the lead back to two.

Smith escaped a leadoff single to the sixth with the Cougars busting open the game in the home at-bat with four runs. Kelley set up the big inning with a leadoff double to left for the Maize freshman's collegiate first and following the Trojans' fourth error of the game, Brett Huelsmann singled with Kelley scoring on Fowler's fielder's choice. Maneth punched in two more runs with his fourth double of the year with the Fowler crossing the dish on Bonar's groundout to the right side of the diamond.

Just like the top of the fifth, Werner again greeted a new Barton pitcher with a leadoff single as Nolan Riley then couldn't escape the second straight double in as many at-bats from Leum. Getting an outfield fly for the second out, Riley didn't have much time to work on Komonosky as the Canadian sophomore lifted the first pitch to left field for his third home run of the season closing the gap to 9-6.

Claassen's 0-2 pitch single with one out drove in Bell from second after having been sacrificed to scoring position by the perfectly placed bunt by Kelley. 

Stranding the bases loaded but having built the lead back to four, Zach Curry took over mound duties for the eighth sending the Trojans down in order with the aid of a leaping Claassen to rob a potential leadoff hit.

The Trojans' fifth error of the game allowed Bonar to reach with Michel connecting on his 11th double of the season giving Barton two on the paths to lead off the inning. Pinch runner Billy Coleman would increase the lead to five scampering home on dropped third strike.

Werner led off a Trojan inning for the fifth time, fighting off a 1-2 count to draw a walk against reliever Dawson Pomeroy to begin the ninth. Pomeroy regrouped to fan the next two batters before Bryce Ball collected his first hit in five at-bats with a run producing left field double. Surrendering his second walk of the inning, Pomeroy then slammed the door shut on the comeback attempt getting third strike looking for his third punchout of the inning and 17th in 9.1 innings worked on the season.

Taylor's inning of no-hit and one strikeout fourth inning earned the Missouri sophomore his second win of the year.

Bonar led the twelve hit Cougar campaign with a 3-for-5 performance with two doubles in driving in three runs as Kelley and Huelsmann each collected two hits.