By BRANDON SMITH
Barton Sports Info
Clinching the program's 12th Jayhawk West Title, the No. 19 ranked Barton Community College baseball team was recognized over the past week as eight different Cougars garnered Jayhawk West and/or Region 6 honors this season.
Catcher Ayden Hadley, designated hitter Kyle Walker and starting pitcher Antonio Mendez headlined the eight individual awards with First Team All-KJCCC West and All-Region 6 honors.
Balanced throughout the lineup all season long two of the selections came on the second team, shortstop Hunter Alvord and outfielder Tate Blasi while second baseman Kyle Graves collected All-Region 6 Gold Glove honors leading a trio on the honorable mention team joined by outfielder Wyatt Yetter, and relief pitcher Andrew McCarthy.
Ayden Hadley – First-Team All-KJCCC West | First-Team All-Region 6 (Catcher)
Hadley, a third-year sophomore from Langley, British Columbia, Canada ranked inside the top three in almost every offensive category for the Cougars as the catcher finished second on the team with a .379 batting average.
For the season Hadley led Barton's run production with 64 RBIs for seventh best in the region. He ranked second on the team with 65 hits, 38 going for extra bases behind his team and region leading eight triples (fourth most in single season), 20 doubles ranking seventh in the region (10th most in single season) and 10 home runs (10th most in single season) for second most in the Cougar lineup.
Hadley recorded 22-multi-hit games, 17-multi-RBI games and trio of five or more RBIs to lead the club while also producing a season long hitting streak of 13 games and 30-game streak of reaching base safely.
The sophomore collected the week 10 Jayhawk West and NJCAA National Player of the Week honors following a .476 week at the plate with eight hits going for extra bases, driving in 17 runs and a pair of five RBI performances.
Kyle Walker – First Team All-KJCCC West | First Team All-Region 6 (Designated Hitter)
A freshman utility player from Topeka, Kansas, Walker hit a team high and region's fifth best .420 at the plate this season with 55 total hits. He had 17 doubles for the team's second most to go along with a triple and three home runs all coming on his birthday in Barton's series opening 14-4 win at Garden City.
Walker had a .634 slugging percentage, and .487 on-base percentage highlighted behind a season best 20 game on-base streak. He drew 19 walks, scoring 37 times and drove in 43 RBIs.
Antonio Mendez – First Team All-KJCCC West | Second Team All-Region 6 (Starting Pitcher)
Mendez made an instant impact to the Cougar pitching staff as the freshman from Lansing, Kansas, quickly sustained his spot in the weekend rotation going 6-1 this season with a save.
Making eight starts and 10 overall appearances, Mendez worked 47.1-innings with a 3.80 ERA before enduring a late season injury sidelining him over the final month.
He had two complete games, one shutout performance against Colby and helped close out Barton's combined opening day no-hitter with starting pitcher Anthony Treto.
Mendez finished with 45 strikeouts to just seven walks while holding opponents to a .249 batting average against.
He was the week six KJCCC West Pitcher of the week following a seven-inning one run, four hit and eight strikeout performance against Seward County.
Hunter Alvord – Second Team All-KJCCC West (Shortstop)
Transferring for his sophomore season, Alvord immediately filled Barton's void at shortstop playing in 51 of the 52 games while hitting .342 at the dish.
The McPherson, Kansas, product manufactured extra bases on 33 of his 67 hits while driving in 55 both ranking second on the team to Hadley. Alvord broke the Cougars single season record for home runs with 17 sitting atop the Jayhawk West leaders and second throughout the Region.
He legged out three triples, 13 doubles and created 37 walks ranking amongst the top 3 leaders on the club. Alvord swiped 29 bases in 32 chances for fifth best in the region and scored 68 times to lead Barton and rank ninth in the region.
Alvord concluded the season reaching base safely in 14-straight games falling two-shy of tying his longest of 16-straight while adding 19 multi-hit and 16 multi-RBI performances.
Tate Blasi – Second Team All-KJCCC West (Outfielder)
Blasi another transfer led the team and ranked third in the Jayhawk West in hit-by-pitches wearing the badge of honor 22 times for the fifth most in a single season. The native of Wichita landed inside the team's top 5 in most offensive categories hitting .317 with a .466 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage.
Blasi had 46 hits with eight home runs, three triples, 11 doubles and 32 RBIs. He supplied a pair of 4-RBI games, the first coming behind his lone multi home run performance in Barton's 20-10 victory over then No. 20 Hutchinson.
Patrolling center field, Blasi recorded a .990 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 100 chances and added an outfield assist.
Kyle Graves – Honorable Mention All-KJCCC West (Second Baseman)
A freshman second baseman from Lawrence, Kansas, Graves hit .324 out of the bottom portion of the lineup in 54 games. Graves had 48 total hits with two home runs, four doubles and four triples finishing for third most on the team.
Graves scored 46 runs and had 36 RBIs while stealing 14 bags.
Rewarded for his defensive play with the programs sixth Region 6 Gold Glove award, Graves fielded at a .971 mark with 84 putouts, 120 assists and helping roll up six twin killers.
Wyatt Yetter – Honorable Mention All-KJCCC West (Outfielder)
The sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska, overcame a sluggish early start, hitting just .167 over his first 14 games, Yetter turned it up a notch, slashing .364 over his final 25 games to conclude the season just shy of .300 with a .299 batting average.
Hitting .323 in Jayhawk West play, Yetter ended the season with seven doubles, one triple and seven home runs to go along with 39 runs scored and 45 RBIs.
Andrew McCarthy – Honorable Mention All-KJCCC West (Relief Pitcher)
A freshman relief pitcher from Gardner, Kansas, McCarthy guided the Cougar bullpen behind a 2-0 record and a 3.62 ERA. McCarthy made a team high 18 appearances working 27.1-innings, permitting 26 hits and 22 runs with 18 strikeouts and 20 walks.