Seventh inning collapse leads to Cougars dropping doubleheader to Dodge City

The Barton Community College softball team never recovered from a disastrous seventh inning in Saturday's first game versus Dodge City Community College as the Conquistadors swept the conference twinbill at Cougar Field 7-3 and 5-2.  The pair of losses sends Barton into its spring break at 2-4 in the Jayhawk West and 16-7 on the season as Dodge City improves to 2-0 in the West and 15-5 overall.   The Lady Cougars next action will be Saturday, March 21, as Barton travels to Garden City Community College for 2:00 p.m. conference doubleheader. 

Dodge City took an early two-run lead in the second as Lindsey Karlin delivered a two-out two RBI single.  Barton responded the third inning as McKenna Mauler led off with her third triple of the season with a deep ball to left field.  Bailey Hensley followed with a single giving the Lady Cougars runners at the corners with no outs with the 2-3-4 batters coming to the plate.  Brianna Ward swung on the first pitch she saw lifting a fly ball to short center.  Mauler tagged on the play but center fielder Ashley Beavers' dart to the plate gunned out Mauler and suddenly Barton was down to their last out.   In stepped Erica Harper and on the second pitch launched a blast to right center tying the game on her team tying seventh homerun of the season.

With Holly Posegate shutting down the Conq lineup in succession for two straight innings, Karlin broke the streak blasting a 1-2 pitch to deep centerfield giving Dodge City a 3-2 edge.  Harper again came through for the Lady Cougars following Ward's two-out single with a deep drive banging off the center field fence to tie the game at three through five innings of play.

Karlin led off the Dodge City seventh with a single to left field as the Region VI's leading batter completed her 4-for-4 performance in game one.  Following an Ashley Beavers sacrifice bunt moving Karlin to second, Posegate and the Lady Cougars appeared to be escaping the inning but that's when things went carnival for Barton.  Following Kaitlyn Amaral's liner back to the mound for the second out, had a good throw arrived at second Karlin would have been picked off for the final out.  The play wasn't made and the next two batters reached base as Posegate walked the next batter and hit the following to load up the bases.  A routine infield ground ball should have ended the inning but Hensley's throw to first was wide allowing one run to score and another crossing on a throwing error to the plate.  Following a Conq RBI single, another throwing error from the outfield allowed an additional run to score in the massacre four-run inning to put the game away.  

Posegate dropped to 6-4 on the season with the loss as four unearned runs came across to score as the freshman struck out six and walked only one but gave up nine hits and two hit batsman.   Posegate's 2-for-3 at the plate joined Harper for the lone multi-hit games as the Conqs led 9-8 in the hit category.

Jordan Mecham improved to a Region VI best 9-2 on the season on the eight hits, walking two, and striking out five.  Joining Karlin in the multi-hit category, Courtney Rettig went 2-for-3 out of the number seven slot in the lineup.

Dodge City did all its damage in the nightcap scoring five runs in the decisive third inning.  Chantal Prester led off the inning and following a Heather Amen sacrifice, Karlin knocked in her third RBI of the twinbill with a line drive double to center.  The Conq would then load the bases on a Beavers RBI single, walk, and another single before Danielle Aldana plated two on her double to center.  Taryn Garza concluded the five run inning with a sacrifice fly.

Ward gave Barton a little life in the home half as the sophomore led off the inning with her sixth homerun of the season with a towering shot to left center.  

Surrendering only a two-out walk in the fourth inning while sending the Conqs down in order in the fifth, Barton put together an opportunity to cut into the deficit.  Harper drew a walk, Everill singled to left, and Posegate reached on fielder's indecision to load the bases but winning pitcher Mia Trujillo got Hosey to ground out to short stop to end the inning. 

Barton would have another golden opportunity in the sixth Mauler and Caitlyn Garcia drew consecutive walks and Hensley came through with a single to load up the bases but the Lady Cougars couldn't come up with the big hit as an infield fly and ground out to the pitcher ended the inning as Barton would strand twelve runners in the game.

Giving the Cougar faithful some hope in the seventh, Posegate's single followed Everill's leadoff walk giving Barton two runners aboard with no outs.  A Hosey fielder's choice advanced the runners and Bakovich's sacrifice fly to deep center scored Everill but that's all the Lady Cougars would get in losing 5-2.

Bugner dropped just her second game of the season falling to 7-2 on six hits, five walks, and two strikeouts.  Everill had the lone multi-hit day going 2-for-3 as the Lady Cougars outhit Dodge City 7-6.

Mia Trujillo picked up the win improving to 3-0 on the season.