Barton Softball challenges but comes up short at No. 5 Odessa College #GoBarton

The Barton Community College softball team had the 5th ranked Odessa College Wranglers on the ropes for a doubleheader split Saturday in Texas but couldn't close the deal in dropping the pair of games 9-1 in five innings and 12-11 on a walk-off.

Shut down in the opener, the Cougars went run-for-run with the Wranglers in game two. Holding a two run lead from the fifth inning, Barton had Odessa down to their final strike but a single extended the inning followed by a game tying double as a Cougar error allowed the third and game winning run to cross the dish.

The fourth straight defeat against the No. 6 (Butler) and No. 5 teams (Odessa) drops the Cougars to 12-10 on the season while the Wranglers improve to 22-2.

Barton now has a busy week of conference games ahead, weather permitting hosting Hutchinson Community College on Monday and Dodge City Community College on Wednesday before traveling to Northwest Kansas Technical College on Saturday. First pitch times for Cougar Field action set for 1:00 p.m. with Saturday's date in Goodland slated for 2:00 p.m. central time.

Game One Recap
Aydenne Brown proved why she is one of the nation's top pitchers, striking out thirteen Cougars in the five innings and allowing just one hit.

Lexi Dryden broke up the no-hitter, battling back from a 0-2 two-out count in the top of the fifth, laying off two pitches, fouling off another, then connecting on her first dinger of the year and third of her career.

Odessa produced all their runs in the third inning, leading off with a walk, triple, a pair of singles, and a pair of infield errors to chase Kayla Beers from the game with a 5-0 lead. Jessica Morgan took over in the circle but another error kept the momentum rolling as two singles ensued driving in two more runs. Morgan then struck out the next batter but the Cougars' fourth error of the inning allowed two more runs to cross the dish as Morgan closed out the frame striking out the next two batters.

Beers took the loss dropping to 4-6 on the year surrendering four earned runs in two innings of work while Morgan's two innings produced five strikeouts in allowing no earned runs.

Game Two Recap
Kayden Smith began her multi-hit game two with a leadoff single as the Cougars would load the bases on one-out Jaysa Anderson and Morgan singles. Kennedee Lara put the first run on the board with a liner to center as Teegan Krol's fielder's choice plated another. Sydni Williams extended the inning with Adreanna Lance getting her 3-for-4 game started with a RBI single.

Odessa quickly got two back in the home half as a leadoff single trotted home on a 2-run home run. Game two starter Savannah Benson induced a ground out and punch out but then gave up consecutive walks before a RBI double tied the game. A Cougar error plated the next run with a wild pitch giving the Wranglers their fifth run in taking a 5-3 lead.

The Wranglers returned the favor in the top of the second as Halie Stoneking's one-out single would eventually score on an Odessa error.

Barton took the lead in the third frame, Lara setting the stage with a leadoff hit in scoring on Krol's fifth double of the season. One out later Lance connected on her first fence clearer in over a month putting the Cougars up 7-5.

Odessa swung the lead back to the home team in the fourth as a leadoff error was followed by a one-out RBI single and run producing double. The Wranglers tacked on their third run of the frame getting a two-out RBI single in taking an 8-7 advantage.

Lance dialed long distance for the second time of the game extending the fifth inning, launching an 0-1 pitch for her third of the season to tie it up. Dryden drew a walk getting the lineup to Smith who deposited a 2-2 pitch beyond the barrier for her first collegiate home run.

The Cougars avoided disaster in holding on to their 10-8 lead in the sixth, getting out of a bases loaded, no-out jam as Morgan inherited the bags full in striking out the final three batters.

Giving up a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh, Morgan appeared to be closing out the Cougars' upset inducing a ground ball for the second out and digging a 1-2 count on the next batter Kawehi Ili. Fouling off the next two pitches with a third landing out of the zone, Ili extended the frame with a single up the middle with Morgan Dutton filling the cleanup position in the lineup with a game tying two-run double for her third RBI of the contest. Two pitches later Barton committed its third error of the game resulting in Dutton scooting home for the winner.

Barton outhit the Wranglers 13-11 with Lance's trio of hits and four RBIs leading the way. Smith's pair of hits drove in two as did Krol on her double. Lara also had a multi-hit game as eight of the nine in the lineup collected a hit.

Benson pitched the first inning with Elizabeth Horsch taking over for the next three innings with four strikeouts. Beers pitched a scoreless fifth frame before Morgan hurled the final 1.2 frames, striking out four but taking the loss dropping to 5-4 on the year.