After playing several games away from home, the Barton baseball team finally stepped onto the field at Lawson-Biggs Field for its home opener on Saturday.
The results was a pair of wins as the Cougars run their winning streak to five games and improved to 8-2 on the young season. Barton won the opener 10-0 and the nightcap 6-4.
The same two teams will go at it again today in the finales. First pitch for the doubleheader is set for noon.
Western Nebraska is now 4-6 on the season.
In the opener, Barton scored four in the fifth and three more in the sixth to propel the Cougars to the win. Garrett Rogers, meanwhile, was stellar on the mound in the shutout win.
Matthew Baca had the key hit in the fifth with a 2-run single that scored Corrigan Bartlett and Trey Pittman to make it 7-0.
In the sixth, Cole Henley singled in Michael Sinks and scored on a double by Pittman to push the margin to 10-0 and end the game an inning early due to the run-rule.
Bartlett, Pittman and Baca all had two RBI in the win while Pittman and Baca each had two hits.
Rogers went the distance in an impressive performance on the mound. Rogers struck out eight and gave up five hits while walking one.
In the second game, Barton took the lead early once again. Brady Michel gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead when he singled in Bartlett and Cole Henley in the opening inning. Barton scored three times in the inning.
From there, Mason Hiser was in control. The sophomore from Augusta went six innings, allowed just three hits and one run. He struck out nine and didn’t walk a single hitter.
Barton gave itself some cushion with a 2-run seventh. Michael Sinks led off the inning with a single and Bartlett was hit by pitch. Both came around to score.
The Cougars would need those runs. Western Nebraska scored three times in the eighth on the strength of a bases-loaded double by Isaac Taylor to make it 6-4.
Andrew Repp shut the door on the Western Nebraska to pick up the save.
Henley and Kaden Fowler each had two hits for Barton.