Cougar Softball pounds out record setting sweep over Garden City #GoBarton

Pounding out 34 hits for 39 runs Saturday at Cougar Field, the Barton Community College softball team had a record setting 25-run outburst registering a pair of five inning victories over Garden City Community College.

A nine-run third inning highlighted the opener's 14-6 victory with a 13-run first inning of the backend of the twin bill kickstarting a 25-5 win for the most runs scored by the Cougars in program history.  Barton's previous most of 24 runs crossing came last year at Northwest Kansas Technical College and the 2022 victory hosting the junior varsity of Central Christian College.

The Cougars batted .618 on the day, 20 of their hits coming via the extra bases as fourteen came on doubles, a triple, and five clearing the fence for home runs with four of those coming in the record breaking game two run production.

Barton improves to 17-9 in conference play and 20-16 overall while Garden City falls to 3-21 in league and 5-32 on the season.

The hot day at the plate will now have a week to simmer as Barton has down time before a busy final stretch of the regular season beginning with next Saturday's trip to Goodland for a 2:00 p.m. (CT) doubleheader at Northwest Kansas Technical College.

The Cougars will then step out of conference play on the ensuing Monday for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch hosting Otero Junior College, travel to Pratt Community College on Wednesday, then wrap up the regular season slate on Saturday, April 27, hosting Hutchinson Community College on Sophomore Recognition Day.

Allyson McDougal led the Cougars' fireworks connecting on extra cases in five of her six hits in seven at-bats, driving in a team high eight runs coming on a trio of doubles, a triple, and the freshman's 4th home run of the season.

Fellow freshman Elina Bartlett also connected on her fourth of the year, blasting the Cougars' lone fence clearer in the opener's 9-run third frame helping the Cougars build a then 14-0 lead.

In game two Barton jumped on the Broncbusters in their first at-bat, scoring 13 runs on 8 hits including a stretch of three home runs in four at-bats. Aly Lawrence began the power surge with a three-run drive deep to left field for her second of the year. Following a Kelsi Gaston walk, McDougal and Chloe Enslinger went back-to-back to cap the big inning as Enslinger's center field deep fly increased the freshman's team home run lead to seven on the season.

Lani Dryden, who was pulled in game one's second inning due to a minor injury making a tag on a stolen base attempt, was back in the lineup for the backend going 3-for-3 including her first plate appearance driving a 1-2 pitch over the left center fence for the sophomore's second of the year.

The home run keyed a 3-run frame for the Cougars, another trio plating in the third inning, with another nine runs crossing the plate in Barton's final at-bat fourth inning.

In addition to a five RBI afternoon, Lawrence picked up the game one victory improving to 5-3 on the year. Alicia Goseland, who took over to get the final out of the opener, picked up the game two win improving to 2-4 on the year after relieving Bartlett with an out remaining in the third frame.

Parlaying multiple centerfield defensive gems including throwing out a runner at the plate, Laci Dryden keyed the offense at the top of the lineup going 4-of-5 on three doubles in driving in four runs, walking four times, and stealing three bases drawing the sophomore just outside the single season Top-10 list with 19 thus far.

Enslinger's home run accounted for one of her six RBIs as all but one of the Cougars' twelve batters drove in atleast one plate crosser during the afternoon.