Barton Baseball completes four game sweep over Western Nebraska #GoBarton

The Barton Community College baseball team completed a four-game sweep over Western Nebraska Community College Sunday afternoon at Lawson-Biggs Field with a pair of 4-3 and 11-1 victories.

Adding Saturday's 21-6 and 11-6 wins, the Cougars have now swept the last seven series against WNCC and won the last 24 contests.

Winning their second straight weekend series, Barton improves to 6-1 on the early season while Western Nebraska drops to 1-7 overall.

The Cougars will head to Enid, Oklahoma on Friday for a pair of games taking on host Northern Oklahoma College-Enid at 12:00 p.m. and Des Moines Area Community College at 3:00 p.m. Barton will conclude the four-game weekend making the short drive to Tonkawa for a doubleheader against Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa with first pitch slated for 12:00 p.m.

Game 1 Recap
Starter Tegan Cain set the tone from the start recording two of his seven strikeouts working a scoreless first inning.

Ricardo Sanchez gave the Cougars the early 1-0 edge with an RBI fielder's choice after back-to-back Robby Bolin and Riley Silva singles opened the home first.

Scoreless in the second, Western Nebraska grabbed their first lead of the series in the top of the third pushing across a pair of runs with two-outs on a Shintaro Inoue RBI single and three base Barton error.

Held to just a Silva double over the next two turns, Barton broke through in the bottom of the fifth as a two-out Bolin double and Silva single put the pressure on Western Nebraska with a wild pitch provided the tying run.

Following a scoreless top of the sixth worked by reliever Tyrus Riley, a leadoff walk to Ayden Blachowicz sparked a two-run home frame for the Cougars as Chandler Miller delivered the big hit lacing a double to left handing the lead back to Barton. Miller would score the eventual game winning run scoring from second on Western Nebraska's lone error.

Western Nebraska would trim the deficit to one and put the tying run on third following a Barton throwing error with just one-out in the top of the seventh. Succeeding a hit-by-pitch placing runners at the corners, Riley dug deep on the mound recording one of his two strikeouts before catcher Grant Nottlemann laid to rest the Western Nebraska comeback gunning down the final out at second on a stolen base attempt.

Cain would earn a no-decision in his strong five innings squandering just four hits, allowing one earned run, walking one and striking out seven falling one shy of his career high.

Tossing two innings out of the bullpen and allowing no earned runs, Riley notched his first victory of the season.

Game 2 Recap
In the nightcap the Cougars rode behind a numerous of collegiate firsts earning an eight inning 11-1 victory.

Carrying a 3-for-4 performance in the opener, Silva picked up right where he left off legging out a one-out double later scoring on a Western Nebraska error giving Barton the 1-0 edge early.

A leadoff Barton error and hit-by-pitch to open the top of the second would help Western Nebraska draw even on a pair of fielder choices.

Loading the bases with no-outs in the home second the first of three hits by Owen Bailey delivered the lead back to Barton for good driving in Chandler Miller's leadoff hit-by-pitch. Two pitches later Hunter Seier tacked on an insurance run grounding into a fielder's choice scoring Ayden Haldey's reaching on an error.

In the bottom of the fourth things would break open for Barton manufacturing a trio of runs behind a bases loaded hit-by-pitch drawn by Silva, Western Nebraska error and Blachowicz bases loaded walk making it 6-1.

A pair of collegiate firsts in the bottom of the sixth would extend the Cougar lead as a leadoff Bolin home run to left center and three batters later Blachowicz first collegiate triple bringing home Sanchez one-out single making it 8-1.

The offense attack continued for the Barton bats in the home seventh with Sanchez plating in two more runs with a bases loaded single bringing across Bailey and Austin Nitcher singles.

Bailey would cap his 3-for-3 day walking it off in the bottom of the eighth bringing around a one-out Hadley walk.

Notching his first collegiate win in his first collegiate start, Reece Hemmerling tossed six innings yielding one hit and one run while striking out four.

Hunter Jones was impressive in his season debut working two-scoreless innings in relief striking out a pair and allowing just one hit.