The Barton Community College baseball team completed a four-game Jayhawk Conference series sweep of Pratt Community College this weekend, earning a pair of victories Thursday afternoon at Stanion Field in Pratt before finishing the series Saturday at Jimmy-Lawson-Danny Biggs Field.
The Cougars opened the series with a 9-5 and 10-6 road sweep Thursday before returning home Saturday to finish the four-game set with a 6-2 victory and an 18-8 seven-inning run-rule decision. Across the four-game series, the Cougars produced 43 runs on 58 hits including eight home runs.
With the sweep, Barton improves to 5-3 in Jayhawk West play and 19-5 overall while Pratt falls to 0-8 in league action and 5-19 on the season. The Cougars will return to action Thursday afternoon hosting Garden City Community College in a 1:00 p.m. conference, opening doubleheader before concluding the four-game set Saturday in Garden City.
Barton offense produced throughout the four-game series, scoring 43 runs on 58 hits including 20 doubles and eight home runs. Rhett Winchester paced the Cougars from the No. 2 spot in the lineup with a monster series, batting .765 (13-for-17) with four doubles, three home runs, nine runs scored and nine RBIs. Kyle Walker added seven hits and seven runs scored while Jaxon Case drove in seven runs behind six hits including three doubles and a home run.
On the mound, Antonio Mendez, Landon Ritchey, Brian Justice and Landon Haines each earned victories in the series while Jake Field added a save out of the bullpen with 2.1 scoreless innings and four strikeouts.
Game 1 Recap
Barton opened Thursday's twinbill at Stanion Field with a 9-5 victory behind a decisive five-run third inning. Kyle Graves delivered a two-RBI double to open the scoring before Case followed later in the frame with a three-run home run for his second of the campaign to put the Cougars firmly in front.
Barton added insurance in the sixth as Hayden Oviatt launched a two-run home run for his second of the season and Jack Jewell followed with a solo blast, his second of the year, to extend the advantage. Winchester paced the offense with a perfect 3-for-3 afternoon at the plate while sweeping four bases as Barton finished with 12 hits in the opener.
On the mound, Mendez (1-1) earned the victory working five innings allowing three runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Field collected his first collegiate save with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Game 2 Recap
The Cougars completed Thursday's road sweep with a 10-6 victory in the nightcap, rallying from an early deficit with runs in four different crooked innings. Barton erased a 4-2 deficit in the fifth as Winchester delivered an RBI double before stealing home to even the contest at 4-4.
The Cougars seized control in the sixth inning as Walker's RBI double brough home JJ Spafford before Winchester launched a two-run home run to left, putting Barton in front for good. The Cougars added three insurance runs in the eighth highlighted by Graves' RBI double and Kyler Horsman's run-scoring single.
Winchester finished with four RBIs to lead the offense while Graves added three hits in the victory. On the mound, Ritchey (3-0) earned the win in relief tossing four innings allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts while Horsman worked the final two frames to close out the sweep.
Game 3 Recap
Barton returned home Saturday afternoon and opened the twinbill with a 6-2 victory behind a strong outing on the mound from Justice. The Beavers struck first with two runs in their first at-bat before the Cougars answered immediately, plating a pair in the bottom half before taking control with runs in the third and fourth innings.
Winchester led the offensive effort going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs while Case added two hits and two RBIs, highlighted by a run-scoring triple. Barton finished with 10 hits in the victory.
Justice (3-2) earned the win working six innings allowing two runs on six hits while tying a career-high eight strikeouts. Field struck out two in a scoreless seventh to close out the opener.
Game 4 Recap
The Cougars completed the four-game sweep with an 18-8 seven-inning run-rule victory behind a 25-hit barrage. The Cougars set the tone early, plating three runs in the first before erupting for seven in the second inning to quickly build separation.
Winchester paced the offensive explosion with a perfect 5-for-5 afternoon at the plate, launching his third home run of the season and sixth of the season while scoring five runs and knocking in two. Walker added four hits including his fourth home run of the year with three RBIs, while Horsman drove in four behind his team-leading seventh long ball of the season.
Starter Haines (2-0) earned the victory working 4.2 innings allowing six runs on six hits with three strikeouts before Patrik Ludviks, and Drew Koch combined to finish out the contest.