Barton starts season off with 3-1 mark against Western Nebraska

Barton starts season off with 3-1 mark against Western Nebraska
The Barton County Community College baseball team started the 2006 season off by winning 3 of 4 contests from Western Nebraska at Lawson Field on the campus of Barton County. Barton swept Western Nebraska Tuesday then split with the visiting Cougars Wednesday in a series that featured the use of wood bats. Barton won 4-2 and 3-0 Tuesday then made it 3 in row with a 2-1 win in the opening game Wednesday. The Cougars finally dropped a 3-2 decision to Western Nebraska to complete the series. Barton is back in action today when Newman visits Lawson Field.

Highlights
Pitching and manufacturing runs were the keys for the Cougars during the series. Barton didn't give up an earned run until the 6th inning of the final game. In the opening contest, Ryan Sheldon tossed 5 innings of baseball, allowing a pair of unearned runs on 4 hits and no walks. Barton fell behind 2-0 in the top of the 3rd thanks to those unearned runs, but evened the mark in the bottom of the inning. Tim Ruble started the inning off with a hit then Austin Holt was hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners. After Brent Biggs sacrificed the runners to 2nd and 3rd, David Wilson singed Ruble and Holt home to even the game at 2-all. Barton took the lead in the 4th when Matt Coatman doubled in Erik Whinery for a 3-2 lead. The Cougars added a 4th run when Coatman doubled in Ty Stivers. Chad Lee picked up the save for Barton, tossing 2 scoreless innings.

Barton received a combined shutout in the 2nd game, as Brett McBride and Nathan Hedrick allowed just 3 hits during the bame. McBride pitched 5 innings, giving up 2 hits, walking 2 and hitting 1 batter. He also struck out 6 and didn't allow to reach 2nd base – thanks in part to Whinery throwing out a pair of runners at 2nd trying to steal. Hedrick, the hard-throwing 6-10 righty, gave up 1 hit and hit 2 batters in his 2 innings of work. Barton took a 1-0 lead when Holt was hit by a pitch to start the 3rd inning, then stole 2nd and 3rd base. He scored on a Wilson single. In the 5th inning, Wilson reached on an error, stole 2nd, was moved to 3rd on a scored on another error. Barton added a 3rd run in the 6th inning when Ruble singled in Anthony Dreiling.

The Cougars made it 3-0 with a 2-1 win in the opener Wednesday. Barton took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd – the 3rd straight game Barton scored runs in the 3rd inning, when Wilson and Michael Stettinger drove in Holt and Wilson. That was enough for Brock Nehls, who tossed 5 innings of 2-hit baseball, shutout baseball. Chad Lee picked up the save by going 1 1/3 innings, allowing only a walk.

In the final game of the series, Barton and Western Nebraska were in a 1-all deadlock much of the game before the visiting Cougars scored twice in the 6th. Barton made it 1-0 in the opening inning when Wade Gubbles tripled in Biggs. After Western Nebraska tied it 1-all in the 3rd with an unearned run, the game remained there until the 6th when Western scored 2 more times off reliever Brian Dorsey. Barton scored once in the bottom of the 7th, but it was not enough to earn a sweep of Western Nebraska. Logan Smith threw 5 innings in the game, allowing 3 hits and the 1 unearned run. Dorsey took the loss.

Stats
Complete stats can be found at www.bartonccc.edu

Next
Thurs., February 23 – v Newman, 2:30 pm (Non conference doubleheader at Lawson Field)