Barton Baseball opens Oklahoma road trip with doubleheader sweep at Tonkawa #GoBarton

The Barton Community College baseball team got off to a strong start in the first of a two-stop road trip down in Oklahoma. Utilizing a three run opening frame, the Cougars cruised to an opening 6-1 victory before needing a late rally surviving in the 11th-inning 6-4 in the nightcap sweeping its' doubleheader at Northern Oklahoma College Tonkawa on Saturday afternoon.

The victories improve Barton to 8-1 on the season while the loss drops the Mavericks to 9-5 on the early campaign. Winners of six straight, the Cougars will look to extend the streak Sunday playing in a triangular in Enid, OK. Barton will open with Des Moines Area Community College at 3:00 p.m., followed by playing the host Northern Oklahoma College Enid at 6:00 p.m.

Game 1 Recap
A fast start would carry the Cougars in the opener plating a trio of runs in the first turn at the plate. Back-to-back Robby Bolin and Riley Silva singles followed by a Ricardo Sanchez walk loaded the bags with none away setting up Jaden Wiley's RBI bases loaded walk. A wild pitch three pitches later scoring Silva and a run producing Jaron Cotton groundout concluded the three-run frame. 

Starting pitcher Owen Reynolds set the tone on the rubber allowing no hits over the opening three innings while allowing just one Maverick base runner to reach coming on a two-out hit-by-pitch in the top of the first.

Silva extended the Barton lead by one in the top of the fourth producing a double to left field becoming the third Cougar to reach base all coming with two outs scoring Hunter Seier's single to ignite the two-out rally.

Barton would tack their final runs on the board in the top of the fifth with RBI singles from Dryden Howse and Owen Bailey coating four straight singles.

Surrendering just one hit through the opening four innings, Reynolds bid for the shutout slipped in the home fifth as a two-out triple brought home a one-out single closing the day for the starter. The sophomore righty was sensational on the mound tossing 4.2-innings, scattering three hits on one run, walking one and striking out a season high seven batters to collect his second victory of the season (2-0).

Ivan Cox delivered a strong 2.1-innings out of the bullpen allowing no hits, walking one and striking out a pair.

Silva continued his hot stretch at the plate turning in his seventh multi-hit performance in his first eight games finishing 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in one. Cotton and Howse rounded out the multi-hit outings each finishing 2-for-4 at the plate and driving home one.

Game 2 Recap
Yielding back-to-back two-out hits in the home first and falling behind 1-0, starting pitcher David Stuart was near perfect over the next five innings settling in allowing just one hit over his six innings tossed while piling up a new career high nine strikeouts in the no-decision effort.

The Cougar bats responded in the top of the second as a Cotton one-out triple knotted it up bringing home Ayden Blachowicz single. A pitch later Barton grasped a 2-1 lead on a Howse groundout.

Holding the lead over the next five innings, the Maverick bats would halt a three inning hitless stretch with a one-out single and RBI double pulling back even at 2-2.

Unable to capitalize on a leadoff Grant Nottlemann hit-by-pitch in the top of the eighth, Barton would find themselves down with three outs to work with following a Cade Tucker home run with two on and two-outs in the bottom of the eighth pushing NOC on top 4-2.

Down but not out a Maverick error mixed between a pair of walks loaded the bases for the Cougars with no outs in the ninth. Back at the plate in the same scenario as the opening inning of game one, Wiley pulled Barton within a run drawing his second bases loaded walk of the day before the Cougars pulled back even on the next pitch with Henry Hayman grounding into a double-play scoring Blachowicz.

Escaping a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth and pair of walks in the 10th, the Cougars would break through in the top of 11th as a Ayden Haldey pinch-hit two-out double plated Cotton and Wiley walks.

On for his second inning of work, Hunter Jones would get a fielder's choice, strikeout and lineout stranding a leadoff single and two-out walk securing his first collegiate victory.

Hadley paced the bats driving in two runs in his lone plate appearance with Cotton, Howse and Wiley each driving in one.