By BRANDON SMITH
Barton Sports Info
The Barton Community College baseball team combined for 17 runs on 27 hits to defeat Colby Community College in the opening two games of a four-game series on Thursday afternoon at Lawson-Biggs Field.
The Cougars scored in all six innings while pitching their second shutout of the season for a 9-0 victory in the series opener before getting a hit from all nine starters in Game 2 to complete the doubleheader sweep 9-3.
Winning their fourth straight, Barton improves to 4-2 in league play and 15-6 overall while the losses drop the Trojans to 0-6 in conference play and 2-18 overall. The series concludes with a Saturday doubleheader set for 1:00 p.m. from Colby's Young Memorial Park.
Game 1 Recap (W 8-0)
Starting hurler Reece Hemmerling and reliever Nathan Bowman combined to throw a six-hit shutout combining for 11 strikeouts. Hemmerling pitched 6.0-innings while tying a career high nine strikeouts to improve to 3-1 on the season, while Bowman worked a perfect seventh in securing the shutout.
Scoring in all six innings, Barton leaped out to a 5-0 lead scoring one run in each of the first five innings before putting the Trojans in the taillights with a three run sixth.
Receiving balanced production up and down the lineup as eight different Cougars recorded an RBI and seven producing a hit, Jaron Cotton led the Cougars plus-seven hit advantage going 4 for 4 at the plate with an RBI and logging the lone extra base hits coming on a pair of triples.
Fresh off his first collegiate three hit game on Tuesday, Cesar Gomez continued to swing a sizzling bat in the seventh spot of the lineup turning in his second straight three hit performance going 3 of 3 with an RBI and run scored.
Making a highlight reel catch in left field robbing Colby's leadoff hitter Gavin Shary of an extra base hit begin the contest, Cole Schieffer closed out Barton's multi-hit performances going 2 for 3.
Game 2 Recap (W 9-3)
In the nightcap, Robby Bolin's leadoff single extending his hitting streak to 19-straight games gave Barton a 1-0 lead on Cotton's RBI double.
Maintaining the 1-0 lead through the opening four innings, the Cougars exploded for five runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth as Barton sent 10 to the plate.
Playing small ball behind Grant Nottlemann and Schieffer's sacrifice fly's in the inning, Wyatt Yetter and Gomez fashioned RBI singles before Cooper Tabor supplied the big hit in the inning legging out an RBI triple for his collegiate first.
Adding three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, Tabor's second single of the game brought in Gomez leadoff walk followed by Owen Clyne's sacrifice bunt scoring Bolin's infield single and Cotton's sacrifice fly carried in Tabor.
Four different Cougars had multi-hits each in a 14-hit attack in Game 2
Tabor paced the bats going 3 of 4 out of the nine hole in the lineup with two RBI's and two stolen bases. Gomez was 2 for 3 with a double, RBI and run scored. Bolin was 2 of 4 with a run scored and steal. Yetter went 2 for 5 with an RBI and run.
Aidan Sowers improved to 3-0 on the mound as the sophomore went seven strong innings scattering four hits, two runs, walking one and striking out four. Sowers yielded just one hit through six innings coming on an infield single in the fourth inning.
Working in relief, Colton Wahlstrom tossed the final two innings giving up one run, three hits and fanning a pair of Trojans to close out the twin bill sweep.