The Barton Community College baseball team split Thursday's doubleheader at Lee Doyen Field, rallying for a 17-15 extra-inning victory in the opener before falling 9-8 in a seven-inning nightcap to No. 5 Cloud County Community College.
The Cougars rally defined the opener, erasing a nine-run deficit with a nine-run sixth inning before pulling out the extra-inning victory, while Barton carried that momentum into the nightcap building a 6-1 lead before Cloud County answered late, with the tying run cut down at the plate in the seventh.
The split moves the Cougars to 31-17 overall and 15-15 in league play, while the Jayhawk West leading T-Birds stand at 41-5 overall and 22-4 in conference play. Barton will wrap up conference play Friday at 1:00 p.m. as the two teams close the four-game series at Jimmy Lawson-Danny Biggs Field.
Barton combined 25 runs on 24 hits across the doubleheader, with Dalton Jorgensen leading the way at 5-for-8 with three Rbis. Kyler Horsman added a four-hit day with a team-high five RBIs, highlighted by his record-setting 18th home run of the season, while Micah McGavran drove in four runs and Rhett Winchester knocked in three.
Game 1 Recap
Barton struck first with a pair of runs in the opening frame behind Horsman's RBI double and Kyle Graves' run-scoring single, but the early momentum quickly flipped as Cloud County responded with runs in four straight innings to build up an 11-2 advantage after five frames.
The Cougars flipped the game in the sixth, erupting for nine runs to erase the deficit, stringing together five hits while taking advantage of a pair of T-Bird miscues. JJ Spafford's two-run single started the rally before Winchester added an RBI single, while Helm followed with a run-scoring double and McGavran capping the surge with a three-run home run, to even the game at 11-11.
The momentum carried into the seventh for Barton, plating four runs to take a 15-11 lead behind Walker's RBI double, Winchester's sacrifice fly, and Horsman's run-scoring groundout before Helm added his 10th big fly of the season with a solo shot. Cloud County answered in the home half, loading the bases with two outs before capping the rally with a game-tying grand slam to force extra innings.
The Cougars answered in the eighth as McGavran led off with a double before back-to-back singles from Hayden Oviatt and Jorgensen pushed across the go-ahead run. An ensuing wild pitch added an insurance run, as Jake Field held the T-Birds scoreless in their final at bat to secure the victory.
Offensively, Barton piled up 15 hits, with Jorgensen leading the way with a 3-for-5 effort including the go-ahead RBI in the eighth. McGavran drove in his three runs behind his 13th home run of the season as part of a two-hit outing, while Helm also went deep in a 2-for-4 performance with two RBIs. Winchester chipped in a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Oviatt added a 2-for-4 showing.
Antonio Mendez worked the opening 4.0 innings in the start, allowing six runs on seven hits, while Field (2-2) earned the victory in relief.
Game 2 Recap
The Cougars broke through in the third, stringing together three hits and taking advantage of free passes as Jorgensen highlighted the four-run frame with a two-run single. Barton added two more in the fourth behind Horsman's two-run home run, his 18th of the season to break the program's single season record, surpassing Hunter Alvord's mark of 17 set last year, extending the advantage to 6-1.
Cloud County responded in the middle innings, cutting into the deficit with four runs in the fourth before adding three more in the fifth and a solo home run in the sixth to take a 9-6 lead.
Barton mounted one final push in the seventh as Oviatt's hit by pitch and Jorgensen's walk to open the rally. A wild pitch pulled the Cougars within two before Walker worked a walk to put the tying run aboard but was cut down at the plate trying to score from first on Winchester's one-out RBI single.
The Cougars finished with nine hits in the nightcap, led by Horsman's 3-for-5 performance with his two-run fourth inning home run. Jorgensen added a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Walker reached base three times.
Braden Hauschel earned a no-decision in the start, striking out over 3.1 innings, while Eli Lang (0-1) suffered the loss in relief.