Barton Softball captures Region VI title, blanks Garden City 6-0 in Championship game

A day prior the Barton Community College softball team had the spark of an underdog knocking off two higher seeds in the first day of the Region VI Tournament.  On Sunday the Lady Cougars took El Dorado's East Park with a champion's confidence shutting out and defeating Garden City Community College 6-0 to earn the school's first Region VI Division I Championship since 1993.   The victory improves Barton to 36-18 while ending Garden City's season for the second straight year as the Broncbusters finish the 2015 campaign at 34-27.  Next on the mission for a berth to nationals will be a trip to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, for a three game series against the 53-12 Western Nebraska Community College Cougars.  The teams will play a doubleheader on Wednesday and if needed, a rubber match game on Thursday.  First pitch times to be announced.  

Having defeated the Broncbusters 3-1 in Saturday's night winner's bracket final, the Lady Cougars would again have to face Garden City as the Broncbusters ended the season of top seeded Butler Community College in a come-from-behind 4-3 eight inning contest.  Drawing the wrong side of the coin toss and batting first as the visitor on the scoreboard, Erica Harper got the Lady Cougars the early lift they needed with a two-out solo homerun giving Barton the early lead.

Harper again came through in the clutch as the conference most valuable player put Barton up 5-0 in third inning.  Caitlin Garcia began the inning beating out the throw for an infield single and two pitches later the Lady Cougars had two runners aboard as Bailey Hensley took the pitch between the back numbers.  Brianna Ward followed with a single to load up the bases and Harper promptly cleared them driving her twenty-fourth homerun of the season over the right center fence.  Having already become the single season school history RBI leader and adding the homerun spot a day prior, Sunday's two long balls and five RBI game jumped the Topeka sophomore into a tie for the nation's top spot in both categories.

With freshman hurler Taylor Bugner keeping Garden City off balance all day while getting the help of continued stellar defense, the Lady Cougars tacked on an insurance run in the seventh as Kylie Everill capped her 2-for-4 game with a drive to right center scoring Harper from first base.

Bugner improved to 14-9 on the season spinning a five hitter and striking out four.  Having defeated Butler 5-4 on Saturday the Garden Plain native struck out twelve in the combined two games of fourteen innings while not allowing a walk.

Harper and Everill's two hits led the Lady Cougars' 8-5 hit advantage as both teams left five runners on base.