Field set for Region VI Championships; Cougars open with Colby

Field set for Region VI Championships; Cougars open with Colby
It took a little longer than expected, but the field is finally set for the 2006 Region VI Baseball Championships in Wichita. Play will begin Saturday at 10 am and run through Tuesday. A game Wednesday will be played if needed to decide the NJCAA College World Series appearance that goes with the Region VI title. Barton County Community College will open play at 4 pm Saturday against Colby at Lawrence Dumont Stadium. The Cougars had to wait until Tuesday to determine who their foe would be thanks to rain over the weekend in the Kansas City area, where Colby defeated KCK. In fact, nearly all the best 2 of 3 opening round series were pushed back with only Barton getting done Saturday in its sweep of Independence. One series finished Sunday, four on Monday and two more Tuesday.

Barton, which finished the season with a 21-11 Jayhawk West mark, has fared well against the 7 other teams remaining with a to move on to Grand Junction, Colo. and the NJCAA World Series. Barton is a combined 10-8 against the teams with a losing record only to Hutchinson and Cowley. Barton is 3-1 this season against Colby, sweeping the Trojans at Lawson Field in Great Bend and splitting games in Colby. The Cougars have not played against the other half of their bracket, where Neosho and Coffeyville will square off.

The Trojans will be getting a hot Barton team. Since the Cougars lost 3 of 4 midway through the West season, Barton has gone 14-5 and lost only back-to-back games once. Barton is outscoring its foes 150-115 over that stretch.

Brock Nehls has been the pitching ace for the Cougar starters this season, posting a 7-3 record with a 2.42 ERA. In has last 4 starts, Nehls 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA. Over that span of 25.1 innings, he has allowed just 5 runs with two complete game shutouts. He has walked just 7 batters while striking out 27. Nehls threw the 10-0 win 7-inning win over Indy in the 1st game of Barton's sweep of Indy. He was named 2nd team All Jayhawk West earlier this week.

Ryan Sheldon threw one of his better outings in the 2nd game of Barton's sweep of Indy to get to Wichita. Sheldon gave up just 6 hits and 1 run in his 7 innings of work. The Cougars starting rotation in Wichita could include Logan Smith, Brett McBride, Kevin Large, and Lucas Kramer as well, depending on the number of games the Cougars must play.

Barton's bullpen has been a strength this season for the Cougars. The Barton bullpen is a combined 14-3 this season with an ERA of 4.80. By contrast, Barton starters are 20-18 this season with a 5.47 ERA. That could have something to do with the fact Barton has outscored its opponent in every inning this year except the 1st 2. The pen also has recorded an impressive 127 strikeouts in 122 innings and posted 15 saves.

Leading the way in the pen this year is the 2-headed monster of Chad Lee and Nathan Hedrick. In relief appearances this season, the two have a combined record of 9-2 with 15 saves. The two have appeared in combined 41 games out of the pen. Lee, a 1st team all Jayhawk West selection, also started 3 games during the middle of the season. In his 15 relief appearances, Lee has struck out 34 in 26.2 innings of work while opponents are hitting .215 against him. Hedrick has been even more impressive, posting a 2.35 ERA in his 34.1 innings. Hedrick has appeared in 26 games – all out of the bullpen – recording a 6-1 record with 10 saves. He has 38 strikeouts and 17 base on balls. Frank Zenisek has been used in middle relief this season for the Cougars.

Austin Holt has stepped up as the biggest offensive weapon for the Cougars. The recently named West Freshman of the Year is hitting .425 and leads Barton in nearly every offensive category – including home runs (5), RBI (39), and slugging percentage (.611) – an oddity for a leadoff hitter. Holt, who has started every game in left field this season, also leads Barton in runs (51), hits (81), on base percentage (.507), and stolen bases (24). Holt currently has a 19-game hitting streak.

Erik Whinery, another 1st team All West selection along with Holt and Lee – Barton had 4 all together – is among Barton's leaders offensive as well from his catcher spot. Whinery is hitting .358 with 32 RBI and leads Barton with 16 doubles. Defensively he has thrown out 19 of the 44 attempted base runners stealing base and picked off 2 more. Brent Biggs was also tabbed a 1st team All West 2nd baseman for the Cougars after fielding .958 from that spot and hitting .300 for Barton. He is 2nd on the team RBI with 37 and leads Barton with 21 sacrifices.

David Wilson earned honorable mention status for Barton on the All West team, hitting .301 and driving in 37 runs as the starting center fielder for all 55 games this season for the Cougars. Tyler Metcalf has been hot of late for the Cougars, hitting safely in 16 of his last 18 games. He has 17 RBI and scored 19 runs over that span. Ty Stivers is 10 of his last 21 with 5 RBI and 9 runs scored.

As a team, the Cougars are hitting .321 this season and have 7 of the 10 players with at least 100 plate appearances hitting .300 or better. In addition to Holt (.425), Whinery (.358), Stivers (.356), Metcalf (.328), Wilson (.301), and Biggs (.300), Anthony Dreiling is above .300 at .302.

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

Next
Sat, May 6 – v Colby, 4 pm (Region VI Championships at Wichita's Lawrence Dumont Stadium)