Barton softball salvages conference split with Colby

It definitely wasn't the result the No. 6 ranked Barton Community College softball team set out to accomplish Saturday at Cougar Field against the Trojans of Colby Community College.   Having its nineteen game win streak snapped with a 2-1 loss, the Cougars had to bounce back in the finale dispatching Colby in five short innings 8-0.   The split drops Barton from a first place tie into second place at 10-2 and 39-3 on the season while the third place Trojans leave Great Bend at 11-3 in Jayhawk play and 29-9 overall.   The Cougars next head to Liberal on Wednesday for a 2:00 p.m. twin bill at Seward County Community College.

Colby took a first inning one run lead scoring an unearned run on an infield error with two outs.  The Trojans would add to it as a leadoff double scored after a sac bunt and another Barton infield blunder credited as an infield single.

Offensively the Cougars were non-existent being sent down by strikeout in eight of their first nine plate appearances as the Trojans' Mara Nash mowed her way to eleven strikeouts and only allowing three hits.  Two of the hits came from Maddison Schofield's 2-for-3 effort with the other coming on Lili Ertmann's first career homerun, a sixth inning solo shot to right center.

Madison Didion took the hard luck loss dropping to 20-2 on the freshman's season striking out six and scattering seven hits.  

Barton took a second inning lead in the back end of the doubleheader on a bases load Schofield RBI walk.  Payton Summers had the lone hit with a one-out single followed by Holly Posegate reaching on an infield error and McKenna Mauler following with a walk to fill the base paths.

The second of four Colby errors allowed Brittany Wood to reach base for the first time on the day with one out in the third.  Following a Jenna Hosey single, Summers collected her second hit in as many trips driving home Wood.  A Posegate groundout to shortstop would increase the lead to three as Hosey scampered home from third base.

The Cougars rolled again with one out in the following inning getting consecutive singles from Schofield and Cadie O'Donnell before Jayden Gonzales drove the pair home on a standup double after one hopping the left center fence.

While the Cougars were methodically building the lead, Posegate was pitching a gem giving up only two hits in the five innings while striking out four.  The first hit came in the fourth inning on a leadoff triple but Posegate induced two comebacks to the circle and an infield groundout to escape the damage.  The second hit came with two outs in the fifth on a misplayed ball outfield ball.

A Mauler leadoff single would begin the fifth for Barton with Ertmann reaching behind her on an infield error.  Schofield put the Trojans on the doorstep of the run rule loss lacing her twelfth double of the season driving in two.  O'Donnell's following single put runners at the corners setting up Gonzales' hard ground ball up the middle scoring the game clincher.

Posegate improved to 18-1 on the season as the Cougars gave support in the eight runs while pounding out twelve hits.  Gonzales led with a 3-for-4 performance driving in two runs while Summers, O'Donnell, and Schofield each collecting two hits with Schofield driving in a team high three runs.