By TODD MOORE
Barton Sports Info
The Barton Community College softball team took care of business Friday in Goodland on a pair of run-rule shortened 12-2 and 27-10 victories at Fort Hays Tech Northwest.
Eclipsing the 30-win mark for the second time in Carson DuBose's third season at the helm, Barton improves to 31-11 overall and more importantly, keeps within striking distance of a conference crown improving to 24-4 and a game back from first place Hutchinson. Fort Hays Tech remains winless on the season at 0-30 in league and 0-40 overall.
The Cougars wind up the regular season next week against both fellow title chasers, the first coming Wednesday in El Dorado at 16th ranked Butler (21-5, 32-6) followed by Saturday's home finale hosting nationally receiving vote getter Hutchinson (25-3, 33-7). Game times for each slated at 1:00 p.m. with Barton honoring its sophomores in-between the doubleheader contests against the Blue Dragons.
Despite the wind and cold temperature conditions, the Cougars were hot at the plate connecting on thirty-eight hits in putting runs on the board in every frame of at-bats.
Peyton McCormick led Friday's hit parade with a near-perfect 7-of-8 performance, including a double and pair of triples in driving in three runs. Three of those hits and pair of RBI helped her cause from the circle in hurling the game one victory improving to 1-1 by scattering six hits and two earned runs, recording her first strikeout in the first inning on the way to four total.
Karter Alvord's .500 afternoon led the squad with six RBI including a 2-run home run in the nightcap's second inning for her 10th of the year. Morgan Thatcher then made it back-to-back yahtzees by driving her third out of the park to anchor the lower third of the lineup by adding a pair of doubles as part of her 4-of-6 day.
Making a return to the lineup from a five-game absence, Chloe Enslinger made the most of her at-bats going 3-of-5 from the game two plate with a pair of doubles and a fifth inning blast to centerfield for her 15th of the season.
Laney Wood continued to set the table at the top of the lineup by getting on base eight times, 5-of-7 from the plate and drawing three walks while adding four stolen bases to her team leading thefts.
Audrey Pate and Alicia Goseland spun the sphere in game two. Pate worked the first 2.2 innings but following seven Tiger runs had scored, Goseland took the final 2.1 frames allowing just three runs to pick up the victory improving to 2-0.