Five home runs power Barton Softball's sweep hosting Garden City #GoBarton

The Barton Community College softball team received timely long balls Sunday afternoon at Cougar Field earning a pair of victories completing the season sweep over Garden City Community College.

Taking game one 12-1, the Cougars connected on a pair of home runs to build out a 7-1 lead before Karter Alvord's grand slam walked it off clinching a six inning, run-rule victory.

A three-run shot to begin game two set the stage before tacking on a fourth inning solo shot for an eventual 9-6 victory in notching Barton's 14th straight win of the series.

The Cougars improve to 19-3 in league and 25-9 overall as Garden City slides to 11-9 in conference play and 19-15 on the season.

Next up is a Wednesday trip to Dodge City for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch at Dodge City Community College.

Alvord and Chloe Enslinger led the squad's 20 hits with 4-of-7 performances each, Alvord's 9th home run clinching game one as Enslinger's two-run shot in the opener's third frame posted her 14th home run of the year putting Barton up 3-0.

Peyton McCormick finished 3-of-6 with three RBI, connecting on her 9th of the year on a solo fence clearer in the fourth inning of the nightcap for a 5-2 lead.

The Cougars' leading hitter on the season, Elina Bartlett belted two home runs, opening with a 2-of-3 performance with a pair of RBI's including a fifth inning dinger before her 3-run blast in game two's first frame recorded her 6th of the year.

In the circle, Meleia Ingram improved to 13-4 scattering four hits in her six innings while striking out nine and walking just two with the lone blemish coming on Garden City's Alyssa Santana's fifth inning leadoff home run spoiling the shutout.

Brooklynn Angielski worked around ten Broncbuster hits in five innings, getting solid defense while striking out three with no walks improving to 10-4 on the year.

Alicia Goseland closed out the remaining two frames, sending Garden City down in order in the sixth and striking out the first two in the seventh before the Broncbusters' top of the lineup tagged four consecutive two-outs hits including a two-run home run in scoring three in their last at-bat.

Game 1 Recap
Laney Wood's one-out single in the third would score on McCormick's reach on error, with Enslinger's two-run long ball growing the lead to 3-0.

Following Santana's solo shot in the Broncbuster fifth, the Cougars sent nine to the plate in the home half to answer with four runs resulting in a 7-1 lead. Aly Lawrence, who was stranded in the first inning after her 10th double of the year, led off the frame with a triple in scoring on McCormick's sac fly. Bartlett's two-out home run extended Barton's at-bat with Morgan Thatcher's hit by pitch being joined by an Alvord single and Dilday's second walk of the contest loading up the bases with Ava Fink delivering a big two-run RBI hit up the middle.

Following a leadoff hit to begin Garden City's sixth, Fink would erase the runner with a perfect strike at the third base bag as Ingram would follow striking out her ninth batter keeping the Broncbusters' off the scoreboard.

Garden City aided the Cougars' clinching sixth inning with Lawrence and Enslinger reaching base on errors on either side of McCormick's lone hit of the game. Bartlett's sac fly to left plated one with Thatcher getting plunked for the second time to reload the bases setting the table for Alvord's 2-2 pitch leaving the yard chalking up Barton's 10th straight run-rule victory over the Broncbusters.

Game 2 Recap
Wood's leadoff walk scored on McCormick's first of two hits in the nightcap. Enslinger followed with a walk with Bartlett extending her consecutive game hit streak to ten straight by connecting on a no-doubt, three-run blast for her second yard exiter of the twinbill.

Garden City connected on five hits in the fourth inning to cut the deficit in half, three hits coming with two outs including Santana's 2-RBI single.

McCormick's 9th long ball of the year got one of the runs back in the home half with Garden City answering in the top of the fifth on a one-out hit and stolen base scoring on a double.

The Cougars fired back in their at-bat sending nine to the plate, Thatcher's third plunking followed by Alvord's walk and Payeton Dilday's reach on a fielder's choice loading the bases. Fink's ground out pushed one across the dish with two more heading home on Wood's 8th double of the year. A fielding error would close out the four-run frame as the Cougars would get caught on a lined double play settling for a 9-3 lead.

Following a scoreless sixth frame including Alvord's one-out double stranded at third, Garden City put the final three tallies on the board in the seventh on Maria Avendan Fori's RBI triple followed by Maysen Kurene-Iwikau's 8th home run of the year.