By BRANDON SMITH
Barton Sports Info
Producing 12 runs in Thursday's series opening victory, the Barton Community College baseball team exceeded that mark plating 18 runs to complete a sweep of Fort Scott Community College on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Region VI Baseball Tournament at Lions Field.
Cole Schieffer tied his career high four-RBIs while Robby Bolin, Jaron Cotton and Ayden Hadley each drove in three apiece to defeat the Greyhounds for the second straight day in seven-innings with an 18-7 victory in Game 2, winning the best-of-3 series 2-0.
Moving to 39-19 on the year, the Cougars advance to the eight-team double-elimination Central District Tournament for the third straight year. Winners of six straight after the sweep, No. 10 seeded Barton will begin play Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. against the No. 2 seed and Jayhawk West champion Blue Dragons of Hutchinson Community College from Eck Stadium on the Campus of Wichita, KS. Meanwhile the Greyhounds have their season end at the hands of the Cougars for the second straight year finishing at 39-19.
The Cougars scored 15 or more runs for the 10th time this season, while putting up runs in four of the seven innings, outhitting Fort Scott for the second straight day 13-9. Barton took advantage of four Fort Scott miscues, eight walks and three hit-by-pitches.
Jetting out to a 3-0 lead in the second, the first Greyhound error ensuing Grant Nottlemann's leadoff single and a wild pitch formed Cesar Gomez sacrifice-fly with back-to-back Schieffer and Bolin run producing doubles with two-outs capped the three-run inning.
Hadley's reaching on a Fort Scott error in the third brought in Owen Clyne's leadoff walk increasing the Cougar advantage to 4-0.
After Fort Scott closed within 4-3 in the third with a Barton error prolonging the inning creating a two-run double and run producing groundout, the Cougars answered in a big way in the fourth sending 14 to the plate and scoring nine runs stretching the lead to 13-3.
Schieffer delivered the first blow in the fourth just two batters in blasting his third-round tripper of the season scoring Hank Orr's leadoff double. Tacking on seven more runs behind a passed ball, pair of RBI Kyler Horsman and Hadley singles, two bases loaded walks by Orr and Bolin mixed between another Fort Scott miscue scoring one and ninth run crossing on Cotton's sacrifice fly.
The offensive production continued for Barton batting around in the fifth while adding five more runs. Hadley increased the lead by two with his second fence clearer of the season following Nottlemann's one-out single. Taking advantage of an Orr plunking and Schieffer walk, Bolin delivered his third RBI with his second double of the game followed by Cotton's two-run single scoring a pair to make it 18-3.
Despite the Greyhounds scoring the final four runs of the game with two in the bottom of the fifth and two in the seventh, Jackson MacWilliams helped lock down the run rule victory going 0.1-innings escaping Fort Scott's bases loaded situation to end the game.
Starting pitcher Aidan Sowers earned a no-decision, tossing 3.1-innings scattering three hits, three runs (one-earned), walking six and fanning two.
Bradley Feezer (4-3) notched the win out of the bullpen going 1.2-innings permitting two runs on two hits and walking one before handing off to Anthony Treto for 1.2-innings with the freshman yielding four hits, two runs with a walk and strikeout.