The Barton Community College softball team rode two very different waves Wednesday afternoon in Liberal at French Family Field, storming back for a dramatic 7-5 victory in the opener before unleashing an offensive barrage in a 14-8 win at Seward County to complete the Jayhawk Conference doubleheader sweep.
The Cougars improve to 15-11 overall and 7-3 in conference play, while Seward County falls to 10-16 and 2-6 in the Jayhawk. Barton now turns its attention to Friday's road test out of conference play, traveling to Division II No. 13 Johnson County Community College for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
Barton combined for 21 runs on 29 hits across the twinbill, including a 15-hit performance in the nightcap. Karter Alvord paced the offense in game two with five RBIs, highlighted by her third home run of the season, going 5-of-7 across the doubleheader. Morgan Thatcher drove in a team high six runs and added a pair of doubles.
Kahli Fields and Ella Pomme each finished with five hits on the day, Peyton McCormick collected three of her four hits in the nightcap.
In the opener, Carly Erpelding's three-run homer—her ninth of the season—headlined a six-run seventh inning as Barton finished with 14 hits, including three-hit efforts from Alvord and Pomme.
In the circle, McCormick struck out a career-high 10 in 6.2 innings of the opener, while Trista Rogers followed with a career-best four strikeout effort in 4.1 innings of relief to secure the sweep.
Game One – Barton 7, Seward County 5
Barton saved its best for last in the opener, erupting for six runs in the seventh inning to erase a four-run deficit and stun the Saints.
Trailing 5-1 entering the final frame, the Cougars strung together a relentless two-out rally following Pomme's leadoff double as Shaylee Spears worked a walk ahead of Erpelding's game-changing swing. The freshman catcher launched her team-leading ninth home run of the season, a three-run blast cutting the deficit to one and igniting the comeback.
Barton kept rolling as Alvord's single and Addison Jones' double extended the frame, setting up McCormick's tying RBI single. McCormick had provided Barton's previous lone run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly. Thatcher then delivered the decisive blow, ripping a two-run double to cap a six-run, seven-hit inning and push Barton in front 7-5.
Seward had built its lead with a run in the fourth and three more in the fifth before adding another in the sixth, but Barton's late surge proved too much to overcome.
McCormick earned the victory in the circle, improving to 3-5 on the season while striking out a career-high 10 batters across 6.2 innings of work. Ellie Crawford worked briefly in the fifth before giving way to McCormick's return to the circle.
Game Two – Barton 14, Seward County 8
If the opener was about patience, the nightcap was pure firepower.
Barton wasted no time seizing control, erupting for six runs in the opening inning behind a blend of patience and timely hitting. The Cougars loaded the bases early and capitalized with a sacrifice fly, RBI singles from McCormick, Thatcher, and Pomme before Spears drew a bases-loaded walk to cap the frame's scoring.
Seward answered with a six-run third inning to even the contest, but Barton immediately countered in the fourth. Alvord delivered a two-run home run for her third of the season putting the Cougars back on top with a Thatcher RBI groundout pushing across the third tally to regain momentum.
Following a Saint two-run answer in the fourth, the Cougars created separation in the fifth, exploding for five runs on seven hits. Chalyn Boone, Fields, and Spears singles immediately loaded the bases before Alvord's two-run single sparked the inning. Jones followed with a sacrifice fly, and Thatcher delivered a back-breaking two-run double to complete her four-RBI performance, pushing Barton's lead to its final margin at 14-8.
Rogers earned the win in relief of Charley Wheeler, improving to 1-1 on the season while recording a career-high strikeout total in 4.1 innings of work.