Curry and Geekie lead five post-season honors for Barton Baseball #GoBarton #RoarCougs

Five members of the Barton Community College baseball team earned post-season honors released by the KJCCC and Region VI.

Sophomore Zach Curry was joined by freshman Noah Geekie on the first team selection list of the KJCCC's All-West team as the pair also received All-Region VI second team honors. A pair of freshman earned All-West honorable mention honors in Joe Richter and Andrew Stewart while Easton Smith concluded his Barton career with a complete game victory to help Barton reach the final four of the Central District Tournament to land on the All-Tournament Team.

Curry won his last six outings on the hill, completing the season 9-2 including two victories in the post-season. Leading Region VI with a 2.25 ERA, Curry allowed just nineteen earned runs in his 76.0 innings pitched while striking out 75. A second team selection after a 7-0 freshman campaign, the Pittsburg State University signee completed his Barton career atop the program all-time chart with a 16-2 record with a 3.49 ERA over the course of 149.2 innings.

In the starting lineup for all but two of the Cougars' fifty-nine games, Geekie led Barton in just about every offensive statistical category. Batting a team high .339 with a .468 slugging percentage for the year, Geekie's inaugural Cougar season produced a team leading hits (74) and doubles (16), tied for the lead with three triples, and was third on the squad with a .407 on-base percentage. Playing left field throughout the season, Geekie also made a start on the mound in striking out seven in three innings of work March 19 against Tabor College junior varsity.

Richter was a member of Barton's talented bullpen in helping the Cougar pitching staff to a Region VI second best 3.41 ERA. Making twenty-one appearances on the hill, Richter finished the season 4-3 with a save on a 2.87 ERA struck out thirty-two in 47 innings including a career high five in 6.1 innings for his longest stint of the season to earn a 6-4 victory March 17 at eventual conference winner Hutchinson.

Like Geekie in left field, Stewart was also a mainstay in the Barton lineup for all but two of the games in anchoring the middle infield at the shortstop position. Helping to roll up twenty-five double plays on the season, Stewart ranked second on the team behind Geekie in most offensive categories including batting average (.318), hits (69), and doubles (15). Tied with Geekie, Charlie Peyla, and Nolan Riley with three triples, Stewart also had a squad third best .429 slugging percentage.

Smith logged a team second most 71.0 innings, none bigger than nine solid frames in the Region VI / Central District Tournament ending 13th ranked Johnson County's season with a five hitter and five strikeouts. Earning one of three pitcher honors on the twelve member All-Tournament team, Smith completed his second season at 5-2 with a 3.17 ERA as the University of Nebraska-Omaha signee was 9-3 in the Barton blue striking out 92 batters in 110.2 innings of work.

Barton's season came to an end in the final four of the Tournament, completing the year 37-22