The Barton Community College baseball team swept Thursday's opening leg against Dodge City Community College at Jimmy Lawson-Danny Biggs Field, securing the pair in two different fashions with a walk-off win in the opener followed by an 11-1 run-rule victory in the nightcap.
The Cougars needed its final at-bat in the opener, getting a two-run walk-off home run from Carter Helm in the seventh to edge Dodge City. Barton followed it up by jumping out early in the nightcap and steadily building separation behind a balanced offensive attack to secure the run-rule victory in eight innings.
Improving to 25-10 overall and 10-8 in conference play, the Cougars will look to clinch a series victory in Saturday's final two games of the four-game set in Dodge City with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch at Cavalier Field. The Conquistadors fall to 13-22 overall and 2-12 in league play.
On the day, Barton combined for 22 runs on 29 hits, including five home runs and seven doubles and a triple across the two contests. Kyler Horsman led the charge going 7-for-8 (.875) with four extra-base hits and seven RBIs while Kyle Walker added four hits and five RBIs. Kyle Graves and Micah McGavran each homered on the day as the Cougars' lineup produced throughout.
Game 1 Recap
Barton needed its final at-bat in the opener, getting a two-run walk-off home run from Helm in the seventh to squeeze out an 11-10 series opening victory.
The Cougars jetted in front in the first on Walker's RBI single, but Dodge City answered with three runs in the second behind a pair of home runs. Barton responded in the bottom half, capitalizing on an error as Rhett Winchester delivered an RBI triple and Walker added a sacrifice fly to key a four-run frame.
Horsman helped the Cougars regain the lead in the fourth with a two-run double and later scored on Bruin Sampson's sacrifice-fly, but the Conquistadors continued to answer back, using a three-run sixth to grab a 9-8 edge before taking a 10-9 lead in the seventh on Cameron Stukenborg's second home run of the game.
Barton had the final say in the home seventh as Sampson drew a leadoff walk before Helm turned on an 0-2 pitch, launching a walk-off blast to left center for his fifth of the season, sparking a Cougars celebration at the plate.
Horsman led the offensive charge at the plate with a 3-for-3 performance including a double and three RBIs while Helm turned in a 2-for-4 effort with the walk off home run and two RBIs. Winchester added a pair of hits with an RBI as the Cougars finished with 11 hits.
Landon Ritchey earned the victory in relief, improving to 4-0 after allowing one run on two hits over the final 1.2 innings. Antonio Mendez got the start, taking a no-decision after allowing nine runs, eight earned, on 10 hits over 5.1-innings.
Game 2 Recap
Barton took control from the start and never let up in the nightcap, riding a strong outing on the mound and an 18-hit attack in the 11-1 run-rule victory in eight innings.
Graves set the tone three pitches in, blasting a leadoff home run down the right field line for his second of the year. Returning to the lineup after missing nearly a month, McGavran made an immediate impact in his first plate appearance, jumping on the first pitch he saw for a solo shot in the second for his seventh of the season to hold a quick 2-0 edge.
Barton continued to add on in the third as Winchester doubled and later scored on Walker's RBI single before Walker came around on Helm's sacrifice fly. The Cougars created further separation in the fifth, getting an RBI double from Horsman and an RBI single from McGavran.
After Dodge City broke up the shutout in the sixth wan an RBI groundout, Barton answered in the home half as Karston Wall led off with his first collegiate home run. Walker later added a sacrifice fly before Horsman turned on the next pitch for his 11th of the season, tying him for the lead lead and extending the lead to 9-1.
Barton capped the scoring in the eighth, plating a pair of runs behind Walker's RBI single and a Dodge City error to close it out in run-rule fashion.
The Cougars piled up 18 hits in the nightcap, led by the top four in the lineup combining to deliver 12 of the 18 hits and six RBIs. Horsman paced the effort with a 4-for-5 showing including a double, home run and two RBIs. Graves finished 3-for-5 with a leadoff home run and three runs scored while Walker added three hits and drove in three, extending his reached-base safely streak to 31 straight games. McGavran chipped in a pair of hits including a home run with two RBIs, with Winchester adding two hits.
Braden Hauschel (3-3) delivered his strongest start of the season, allowing one run on four hits over a season-long 6.1 innings with four strikeouts. Trey Mackwood followed out of the bullpen, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings on just 17 pitches to close out the run-rule win.