The Barton Community College softball team rode an offensive explosion in the opener before nearly completing a dramatic comeback in the nightcap Saturday afternoon at Cougar Field, defeating Seward County Community College 17-0 in five innings before falling 7-6 to earn a Jayhawk Conference split.
The Cougars move to 15-11 in conference play and 23-21 overall, while Seward County stands at 7-17 in the Jayhawk and 15-27 on the season. Barton returns to action Tuesday hosting Southeast Community College for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch in non-conference action.
Two vastly different scripts unfolded across the twinbill, as Barton overwhelmed early in the opener before spending the finale playing catch-up, rallying late but coming up just short.
Barton combined for 23 runs on 20 hits across the two games, hitting .385 as a team while drawing 13 walks and producing ten extra-base hits. The Cougars did most of their damage in bursts, plating 17 runs across the first three innings of the opener before nearly flipping the finale with a four-run seventh inning rally.
Peyton McCormick led at the plate and in the circle, going 3-of-5 with five RBI while also tossing a one-hit shutout in game one. Morgan Thatcher added three hits and three RBI, while Hailey Horton connected on three doubles, drove in three, and scored a team-high four runs.
In the circle, Barton combined to strike out 13 across the twelve innings, holding Seward County to a .277 average.
Game One – Barton 17, Seward County 0 (5 inn.)
Barton erupted for 17 runs on 11 hits in just four offensive innings, taking advantage of eight walks in producing 16 RBI. Seven different Cougars drove in runs, led by Addison Crockett's grand slam and McCormick's five-RBI performance. McCormick also dominated in the circle, tossing a one-hit shutout with five strikeouts, allowing just a leadoff single before retiring 15 of the next 18 batters she faced.
Barton jumped out early, loading the bases on singles from Laney Wood and Crockett followed by Carly Erpelding drawing a walk. Karter Alvord's fielder's choice brought in the first run before Horton followed with an RBI single. Thatcher's walk reloaded the bases, with McCormick and Shaylee Spears each driving in runs, and Grace Hembree's walk forcing in another. Wood capped the six-run frame with a sacrifice fly.
The Cougars went back to work in the second frame. Erpelding's leadoff walk and Alvord's hit set the table for Horton's deep RBI double down the right field line. McCormick added a sacrifice fly, and after Spears and Wood drew walks around a Hembree single, Crockett cleared the bases with her third home run of the season.
Barton added another big inning in the third as Alvord worked a walk and Horton reached on a fielder's choice. Thatcher followed with an RBI single before McCormick blasted a three-run home run for her first of the year.
Game Two – Seward County 7, Barton 6
Momentum flipped in the finale as Seward County struck early with a first inning run before a three-run home run in the third built a four-run advantage.
Horton's fourth inning double followed by Thatcher's RBI single gave Barton life. McCormick and Spears followed with hits to load the bases with no outs, and Hembree delivered a sacrifice fly, but the Cougars were unable to fully capitalize, cutting the deficit to two while leaving the bases loaded.
The Saints answered in the sixth, pushing across two runs with two outs on a wild pitch and RBI single, then added an insurance run in the seventh on back-to-back doubles.
Trailing by five entering the seventh, Barton mounted a final charge. Wood's leadoff walk, combined with an outfield error, ignited the rally. Pinch hitter Ellie Crawford followed with an RBI double, later scoring on a wild pitch. Horton and Thatcher delivered back-to-back doubles to pull Barton within one.
With two outs and the tying run in scoring position, the comeback bid stalled on a flyout and a hard-hit lineout, leaving the Cougars one swing short.
Charley Wheeler took the loss, dropping to 8-8 on the season, working the first 5.1 innings allowing eight hits, five walks, and five strikeouts. Trista Rogers closed the final 1.2 innings, surrendering four hits and one run while walking one and striking out three.
Horton and Thatcher led the offense with two hits each, with Thatcher driving in two. Crawford and Hembree each added an RBI.