The Barton Community College softball team completed its second conference sweep in the last three conference series taking care of Dodge City Community College Wednesday in Dodge City. Avenging a disappointing sweep on the Cougars’ field nearly a month ago, Barton turned the tide on the Conquistador’s home turf with five home runs in a come from behind 11-6 game one victory followed by a 9-1 five inning run rule in the nightcap. The sweep improves the third place Lady Cougars to 10-8 in the Jayhawk West and 28-13 overall while dropping Dodge City to the fifth slot at 7-9 and 20-14. Barton will continue their four-day six day stretch with a trip to El Dorado on Friday taking on Butler Community College who sit atop the standings at 10-4 and 23-13. The teams split their two-game series two weeks ago at Cougar Field as Barton snapped a twenty game losing streak to Butler with a 11-3 five inning run rule in game one with Butler getting revenge in the nightcap with a five inning 12-4 victory.
Dodge City did most of their damage in the second getting four runs on four hits while taking advantage of a Barton infield error.
The Lady Cougars clawed back in the third getting a Bailey Hensley leadoff walk and the reigning three-time conference player of the week Erica Harper‘s 1-1 pitch drive to center for her nation tying seventeen round tripper of the season. One inning later Holly Posegate and Caitlin Garcia singles were followed by another Hensley walk setting up Brianna Ward‘s RBI two-out walk to cut the deficit to one.
The Conquistadors reawakened in the fourth as another Barton error aided by two singles and double increased the Dodge City lead back out to 6-3.
Kylie Everill, who relieved Posegate in the center circle during the Conquistador four run second inning, helped her cause by leading off the fifth with her eleventh homerun of the season. Two pitches and an out later, Jenna Hosey drilled her fourth of the season brining the Lady Cougars back to within one.
McKenna Mauler made it two straight Barton innings with a leadoff homerun as the Great Bend freshman hit her third of the season driving a 2-2 pitch over the right field fence to tie it up.
Four straight singles set up Barton’s decisive five-run seventh inning. Singles by Posegate, Hosey, Braydee Bakovich, and Garcia’s produced the first two runs while Hensley added two more runs with her seventh jack of the season.
Taylor Bugner pitched a perfect seventh inning getting the help of Mauler’s homerun robbing to end the game preserving the win for Everill improving to 4-2 on the season.
Posegate led a 14-7 Barton hitting advantage going 3-for-3 at the plate leading three other players with a multi-hit game. Everill, Hosey, and Garcia each went 2-for-4 while Hensley led the team with three runs batted in.
The second game began as a pitching duel as the Lady Cougars went down in order the first two trips to the plate while the Conquistadors mustered only a couple of hits.
Appearing to go 1-2-3 in the third, Mauler broke up the string of eight straight retired batters with a single to center. Hensley kept things going with a walk to set up Ward’s first of three runs batted in with a single up the middle scoring Mauler.
Taking a page from the Barton book, Dodge City picked up the equalizer in the home half as Taryn Garza hit her team leading sixth homerun over the center field fence.
Following a three-up three-down fourth inning for both teams, what was a pitcher’s duel turned into a nightmare for three Dodge City pitchers as Barton would score eight runs on four hits, three Conquistador errors, and combination of five wild pitches and passed balls.
Garcia started the inning with a one-out double to center followed by Mauler reaching on a Dodge City infield error. One out later Ward delivered an RBI single to left and after two passed balls and walks by Harper and Everill, Posegate increased the lead out to 6-1 with a single to right field. Hosey became the third walked batter of the inning before Bakovich drove in her lone run of the game with a single to center. Coming to the plate for the second time in the inning, Garcia benefitted on the Conq’s third error and Mauler drew a walk before the final wild pitch scored the eighth run giving Barton a 9-1 lead.
Not allowing a hit since Garza’s third inning homerun, Bugner was perfect in the final 2.2 innings retiring the final eight batters. Improving to 12-5 on the season, Bugner scattered three hits with one walk while striking out five.
Finishing with only six hits, Ward led the Lady Cougars going 2-for-3 driving in three runs while Posegate drove in two.
