By BRANDON SMITH
Barton Sports Info
Cesar Gomez walk-off two run single in the bottom of the ninth Saturday afternoon lifted the Barton Community College baseball team to a three-game sweep over North Iowa Area Community College at Lawson-Biggs Field.
The fifth straight victory moves the Cougars to 11-4 on the season while the seventh straight loss drops the Trojans to 5-9 overall.
Barton now sets their sights to Thursday's conference opening 1:00 p.m. doubleheader against Butler Community College to conclude the seven game homestand before closing out the four-game set Saturday in El Dorado.
Holding a 6-3 lead through six innings, the NIACC bats got to the Cougar bullpen in the top of the seventh with four runs to take a 7-6 lead while extending it with a run in the top of the eighth.
Held 0-for-4 coming to bat in the home eighth with two on, Robby Bolin delivered the first of two key late inning Barton hits roping a game tying two-out triple down the left field line extending his hit streak to 12-straight games.
Outhitting the Cougars 15-9, the Trojans would load the bases with one-out in the top of the ninth as a sacrifice fly pushed in the go-ahead run, 9-8.
Grant Nottlemann's leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth caused havoc on the NIACC defense advancing two bases on the third Trojan error of the game permitting the go-ahead run in Jaron Cotton to reach. Producing the Cougars first two runs of the game with his first collegiate double in the second inning, Gomez played heroic again with one-out in the ninth distributing the walk-off two run single.
Preston Golden secured the victory out of the bullpen improving to 2-0 on the year going 1.0-inning permitting two hits, one run and one walk.