The Barton Community College softball team opened conference play Thursday afternoon in Goodland with a dominant sweep of Fort Hays Tech Northwest, earning a pair of five-inning run-rule victories by scores of 14-1 and 15-3.
Barton wasted little time setting the tone, scoring in eight of its ten offensive innings on the day. The Cougars raced out to an 8-0 advantage through the first three frames of the opener before sealing the victory with a six-run fifth inning. More of the same followed in the nightcap as Barton plated three runs in each of the first four innings, highlighted by a six-run second inning that broke the game open.
The Cougars improve to 10-8 overall while Fort Hays Tech Northwest drops to 1-9. Barton remains on the road Saturday traveling to Pratt Community College before returning home Wednesday to host Hutchinson Community College. First pitch for both doubleheaders is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Ten different Cougars recorded hits in the sweep, led by Morgan Thatcher and Kahli Fields with five hits apiece while combining for six extra-base hits. Thatcher paced the offensive effort with five RBI, highlighted by a leadoff home run in the opener for her first of the season before adding a pair of doubles and three RBI in the nightcap. Batting in the No. 2 slot, Fields opened the day going 3-for-4 with two RBI before finishing the twin bill batting .500 with another pair of runs driven in, including a second-inning double.
Hailey Horton added to the power display as her lone hit in the opener cleared the fence for the sophomore's second home run of the season. Ella Pomme also recorded a pair of collegiate firsts, delivering her first hit and RBI on a fourth inning shot to left field that took a sharp hop and rolled to the fence for a triple
In the circle, Charley Wheeler tossed a complete-game two-hitter in the opener, matching a career best with 10 strikeouts to improve to 5-3 on the season. Ellie Crawford made her second consecutive start in the nightcap, tying her season best with three strikeouts while scattering three hits across four innings. Trista Rogers worked the final frame in her collegiate debut, striking out two while retiring the Tigers in order.