Cougar Softball sweeps opponents to finish 4-1 at Cloud County Tournament

The Barton Community College softball team swept both opponents Sunday in the final day of the Cloud County Tournament held in Concordia, Kansas.  The Lady Cougars took care of Brown Mackie College 9-2 to begin the day then held off a pesky Southeast Community College squad in the second game 6-3.  The pair of victories improves Barton to 14-3 on the season going into Monday's conference opener at Cougar Field hosting Colby Community College in a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader.

Barton put two on the board in the first inning against Brown Mackie then put the game away with a pair of three-run innings in the final two at-bats.  Brianna Ward led a ten hit Lady Cougar attack going 3-for-4 driving home two runs, the first coming on her 5th home run of the season to lead off the third inning.  Reigning conference and national player of the week Erica Harper had a 2-for-4 game driving in three runs, Caitlin Garcia drove in two, and Kylie Everill launched her seventh homerun with a two-run shot in the three run bottom of the fifth.

Holly Posegate improved to 6-2 in the circle striking out nine in allowing two runs on six hits and two walks.

Leadoff batter Bailey Hensley set the stage in the Lady Cougars' second game of the day taking on Southeast.  The sophomore from Ellis, Kansas, went 3-for-4 at the top of the lineup scoring three times while driving in four.  Leading off the third with a double, Hensley would eventually come around to score giving Barton the early one run lead.  Following Jenna Hosey leading off the fourth with her second hit of the game and McKenna reaching via a hit batsman, Hensley drove the first pitch she saw with two outs over the left field fence for her fifth homerun of the season staking Barton to a 4-0 lead.  

Following a two-run Southeast fourth inning, Holly Posegate picked up her second hit of the game by depositing her fourth long ball of the season over the centerfield fence.   One inning later Hensley went deep for the second time driving a centerfield two-out solo shot for her twenty-six run batted in to go along with her sixth homerun.

Southeast picked up another run with a leadoff homerun in the sixth but were all shut down by the pitching of Taylor Bugner.  One day prior of striking out thirteen, the Garden Plain freshman struck out twelve and limited the Southeast bats to only two hits improving to 5-1 on the season.