Three home runs lead Barton softball to split at Garden City #GoBarton

The Barton Community College softball team bounced back from a 7-3 game one loss Wednesday afternoon at Garden City Community College with six extra base hits including three home runs for a 9-4 win to salvage the split. The results leave the Cougars at a fourth place 7-5 conference mark and 10-14 overall while Garden City continues to chase in the standings sitting at the fifth spot with a 6-8 record and 16-16 on the year. Barton's next conference date will be Saturday in a road trip to El Dorado for a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader at No. 11 ranked Butler Community College (10-0, 23-3).

In a flip-flop of game starting pitchers, the Cougars went with Emma Horsch in the nightcap which worked out well in scattering eight hits with no earned runs improving to 5-7 on the year. At the plate the Lyons freshman also had a solid performance went 3-for-4 driving in three runs, the first coming on a second inning leadoff home run to tie the game with the other two runs crossing the dish on a two run shot to centerfield for her third long ball of the year in sparking a six spot fourth inning.

Barton grabbed an early 1-0 lead behind a Morgan Michaelis single but two of the Cougars' six errors allowed Garden City to take a 2-1 lead.

Following Horsch's game tying leadoff home run, the teams went scoreless in the third before the Cougars broke it open with six runs. Andreana Reynolds began the eleven at-bat inning with her eighth double of the year to be followed by Horsch's two run blast. A Garden City pitching change and a Jaila Jordan reach on error kept the inning rolling as an out later, sophomore transfer Kristin Storer belted a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run long ball in statting the California native's first collegiate home run.

The top two in the lineup combined for four hits and two walks in the nightcap as Alexis Sharples connected on her first of two hits with Kat Frakes drew a five pitch walk to the first base bag. Hailey Pop, who sent her team tying fifth ball over the fence in game one, doubled for the fifth time of the year driving in the pair to cap the inning in an 8-2 lead.

A leadoff error led to a solo Broncbuster answer in the home half with two more errors giving Garden City their next and final run of the game coming in the sixth inning.

Reynolds and Horsch singles opened up the seventh with Storer delivering a 2-2 two-out pitch up the middle for her career high third RBI of the game.

The Broncbusters put two runs on Allison Panning in the third behind solo home runs and two more in the fourth after stringing together a two-out single and double before a 1-2 pitch double plated two runs.

The Cougars struck back in the following fifth inning with Nasadiya Salazar leading off the inning with Barton's lone walk in the game. Two outs later Kat Frakes broke the goose egg on the scoreboard with Pop's two run line drive over the center field fence cutting the deficit to 4-3.

Panning would strand a pair of Broncbuster one-out singles in the fifth but with the Cougars quickly going down in order in the sixth, returned to the circle and two pitches later Garden City would have leadoff aboard with a single. A sacrifice bunt later, a single would be followed with consecutive doubles driving in three runs for the final margin dropping the Ellinwood freshman to 5-6 on the year.