A fast start wasn't enough for the Barton Community College baseball team on Thursday, dropping both ends of a doubleheader at No. 19 Hutchinson Community College from Hobart-Detter Field.
Barton saw a 7-0 advantage slip away in the opener, surrendering the game's final nine runs in a 9-7 setback before Hutchinson used a pair of big innings in the nightcap to pull away for a 17-4 win in seven innings.
The results leave the Cougars at 27-13 overall and 11-11 in conference play while the Blue Dragons improve to 32-9 on the season and remain second in the league at 14-4. The series now shifts to Jimmy Lawson-Danny Biggs Field on Saturday for the final two games of the four-game set, slated for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
Over the two contests, Barton produced 11 runs on 16 hits. Kyler Horsman led the offense with a 3-for-6 showing, driving in a team-high three RBIs behind a pair of home runs. Rhett Winchester added a three-hit performance including a triple while Kyle Walker, Carter Helm, and Kyle Graves each recorded multi-hit efforts.
Graves and Micah McGavran joined Horsman with multi-RBI performances, with McGavran delivering a two-run home run as the Cougars' lineup accounted for four long balls in the twinbill.
Game 1 Recap
Barton couldn't hold off a late surge in the opener, surrendering the final nine runs in a 9-7 setback after building an early 7-0 lead.
The Cougars came out swinging, plating three runs in the opening frame as Winchester delivered a one-out triple before Walker was hit by a pitch, with a balk bringing home Winchester for the game's first run. Horsman then followed with the first of his two home runs, blasting a two-run shot to left center to cap a 3-0 opening turn at the plate.
Barton added on in the second behind Graves' RBI single before extending the lead to 6-0 in the third on McGavran's two-run home run, his ninth of the season.
Horsman added the Cougars' final run in the fourth, leading off the inning with his second round tripper of the contest and 15th of the year, moving him into second all-time on Barton's single-season home run list.
Starting pitcher Antonio Mendez (2-2) took the loss despite a strong start, retiring the Blue Dragons in order the first time through the lineup before Hutchinson broke through with three runs in the fourth and erupted for six runs in the fifth, with all six runs in the frame coming with two outs.
Barton produced seven runs on eight hits, with Horsman leading the way going 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs. His two long balls, his team-leading 14th and 15th of the season, moved him into second all-time on Barton's single-season home run list.
McGavran added a two-run home run as part of the Cougars' three long balls in the contest.
Game 2 Recap
In the backend, Barton couldn't keep pace, falling 17-4 in seven innings.
Hutchinson struck early with four runs in the opening frame before breaking the game open in the third, erupting for 11 runs to create separation. The Cougars were able to push across single runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings but couldn't string together enough offensive to climb back into it.
Barton finished with eight hits, with Walker collecting two while Helm added a leadoff solo home run in the fourth, his sixth of the season.
The Cougars used five pitchers in the contest, with Braden Hauschel (3-4) suffering the loss after allowing eight runs over two innings.