Barton softball erupts in opener before settling for split at Garden City; Forecast moves up next game to Friday #GoBarton

The Barton Community College softball team rode its most explosive inning of the season to an opening game victory before Garden City Community College answered in the finale, resulting in a Jayhawk Conference doubleheader split Wednesday afternoon on a windy and cool day in Garden City.

Barton moves to 10-6 in conference play and 18-16 overall, while Garden City evens its league mark at 8-8 improving to 21-17 on the season. The Cougars return home Friday for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch against Fort Hays Tech Northwest, moved up a day due to impending weather.

Two vastly different scripts unfolded across the twinbill, as Barton's offense overwhelmed in the opener before Garden City's timely power proved decisive in the nightcap.

Barton combined for 29 hits and 27 runs across the doubleheader, highlighted by a 22-hit explosion in the opener featuring six multi-hit performances with two players connecting on four hits each.

Karter Alvord's six RBIs led all players on the day, while Kahli Fields drove in all of Barton's runs in game two, highlighted by her first collegiate home run coming on a three-run shot in the fourth inning. The Cougars also celebrated first collegiate hits from Trista Rogers and Ellie Crawford, setting the table for Barton's three-run fifth inning of the opener.

Garden City countered in the finale with three home runs, including two grand slams accounting for eight runs, providing the decisive swing in salvaging the split.

Game One – Barton 23, Garden City 10 (5 innings)
Trailing 5-3 entering the fourth inning, Barton delivered a jaw-dropping offensive eruption, plating 17 runs on 15 hits in the frame to turn a deficit into a runaway victory.

The Cougars sent wave after wave to the plate in the decisive inning, piling up 22 hits in the contest and capitalizing on six Garden City errors to seize control. The 23 runs scored mark the eighth-highest single-game total in program history.

Alvord headlined the offensive barrage, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a grand slam for her fifth dinger of the season while driving in six runs. Laney Wood and Addison Crockett each produced four-hit efforts, with Wood launching her third home run and driving in four while Crockett added three RBIs.

Carly Erpelding added to the power surge with a three-run homer for her team leading ninth as part of a four-RBI outing, while Fields contributed three hits at the top of the lineup.

Garden City briefly seized momentum behind a three-run third inning, but Barton's fourth inning flipped the contest entirely, scoring seven runs before recording the second out and continuing to pile on from there.

Charley Wheeler improved to 7-6 on the season, working four innings before Peyton McCormick put a halt to Garden City's five-run final frame in closing out the run-rule victory.

Game Two – Garden City 13, Barton 4 (5 innings)
The nightcap turned on the long ball as Garden City struck early and often, launching three home runs — including two grand slams — in securing a 13-4 run-rule victory.

The Broncbusters began and ended the contest on grand slams, the first coming in their opening at-bat with the latter ending the game, while adding three runs in the third and two more in the fourth to build their advantage.

Barton picked up a run in the second inning on Fields' RBI single before the freshman trimmed the deficit again in the fourth with a three-run homer — her first collegiate — as part of a 2-for-3, four-RBI performance. Hailey Horton added a pair of hits in a 2-for-3 outing.

Outhitting Barton 9-7, Garden City maximized its opportunities, with eight of its 13 runs coming via the two grand slams.

McCormick drew the start in the circle, falling to 4-8 on the season after three innings of work, with Rogers working the final 1.1 innings.