The Barton Community College softball team came up just short in a tightly contested road twinbill Monday afternoon, falling by scores of 4–3 and 1–0 at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami, Oklahoma.
The Cougars slip to 2–4 on the year heading into weekend travel to Denison, Texas, for a four-game slate at the THF Winter Blast, while NEO remained unbeaten, improving to 6–0.
Barton struck first in the opener, as Laney Wood opened her two-hit day out of the leadoff spot, followed by a single from Mollie Steiner before Carly Erpelding delivered an RBI single to put the Cougars on the board. NEO answered in the home half, taking advantage of a leadoff walk and single before pushing a run across on consecutive fielder's choices.
A pair of fourth-inning walks helped Barton regain the lead, with Karter Alvord and Kahli Fields coming around to score on Wood's second triple of the young season. The advantage was short-lived, however, as NEO responded in the bottom of the fifth. A walk and reach on a dropped third strike set the table before a pair of hits and a bases-loaded walk produced the deciding run. Barton put runners aboard in each of the final two innings but was unable to generate the tying score.
The nightcap turned into a defensive duel, as Barton was held hitless but still found ways to apply pressure by drawing walks and pushing runners into scoring position. The game's lone run crossed in the bottom of the fifth following a pair of walks, with the deciding run scoring on a passed ball. Barton mounted a final threat in the seventh, as Alvord and Morgan Thatcher reached on walks, but the Cougars could not break through in their final at-bat.
Across both games, Barton's pitching staff delivered steady performances that kept the Cougars within striking distance, while the defense answered with timely plays, including two double plays turned by Thatcher to erase potential scoring threats. Charley Wheeler logged 4.2 innings in the opener, scattering five hits and four runs, just one earned, to fall to 1–2 on the year. Peyton McCormick went the distance in game two, allowing just three hits and one unearned run, also slipping to 1–2. Ellie Crawford added an efficient 1.1 innings in the opener, striking out two without issuing a walk.