One day after keeping its season alive, the Barton Community College baseball team punched its ticket to next week's Region 6/Plains District Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Lions Field.
Behind another late ninth-inning rally and the team's second straight complete-game effort, this one from Braden Hauschel, Barton defeated Fort Scott Community College 5-2 to clinch the best of three first-round series two games to one.
Winning back-to-back elimination games, the Cougars improve to 33-20 overall and advance to next week's double-elimination Region 6/Plains District Tournament, while the Greyhounds conclude their season at 38-21. Barton will face second-seeded and No. 2-ranked Cloud County Community College in Wednesday's 1:00 p.m. opening-round matchup at Wichita State University's Eck Stadium.
Both teams broke through with two-out rallies for their first runs, the Cougars striking first in the second as Kyle Graves' leadoff single and JJ Spafford's two-out base hit set the table for Dalton Jorgensen's RBI single and a 1-0 lead. Fort Scott answered in the fourth, knotting the contest at 1-1 on Ethan Hampton's two-out RBI double.
While Hauschel remained in control on the mound, allowing just two baserunners from the fifth through the eighth innings, the Barton offense was held in check as Fort Scott retired 12 straight batters from the third through the sixth before the Cougars stranded the bases loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Barton finally broke through in the ninth, sending all nine batters to the plate and scoring four runs to break the 1-1 deadlock. Jorgensen and Kyle Walker delivered back-to-back one-out singles before Rhett Winchester followed with the eventual game-winning two-run double. With two outs, Carter Helm ignited a string of three consecutive singles by driving in Winchester before Graves and Micah McGavran followed with back-to-back hits. McGavran's RBI single providing the four-run cushion.
Fort Scott got a leadoff solo home run from Zadin Cannon in the bottom of the ninth, but Hauschel responded by retiring the next three batters to send the Cougars to Wichita.
Hauschel (5-4) turned in his longest career outing, scattering four hits and allowing two runs while striking out a season high eight and walking one in his first collegiate nine-inning complete game. The sophomore needed 117 pitches, throwing 76 for strikes, in becoming the second Cougar starter in as many days to go the distance.
Barton pounded out 14 hits in the victory, outhitting the Greyhounds 14-4, with Jorgensen and Graves each collecting three hit-performances. Helm, JJ Spafford and Winchester added two hits apiece, with Winchester delivering the go-ahead two-run double in the four-run ninth inning.
Series Statistics
As a pitching staff, the Cougars turned in a dominant series, utilizing just five pitchers over the 27-innings to post a 2.42 ERA while limiting Fort Scott to 10 runs, seven earned, on 20 hits across 26 innings. Barton hurlers struck out 17 against just three walks, highlighted by back-to-back complete games, from Brian Justice and Hauschel in the two elimination victories.
Offensively, Barton hit .311 over the three-game series, producing 33 hits and 11 runs while outhitting Fort Scott 33-20 and outscoring the Greyhounds 11-10. Spafford, Kyler Horsman and Graves each batted .385 or better, while Jorgensen and Helm added four hits apiece