DODGE CITY – The game lasted nearly 10 days. But in fact, the return trip to took longer than completing the contest.
The Barton softball team resumed its suspended game with Seward County Saturday and with it completed the sweep of the Saints by finishing off a 10-1 win. Barton had won 3-2 in the opener 10 days ago.
The win put Barton in the driver’s seat for the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region VI tournament.
With the completed win, Barton and Seward are now tied at 14-8 in the Jayhawk Conference. Colby is in the mix as well at 12-10.
The only games left for Barton is a doubleheader with No. 1 and unbeaten Butler today. Seward also plays the Grizzlies for its final two game.
Barring an upset by Seward over Butler, the Cougars will get the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region VI tournament since Barton won 3 of 4 over Seward this year.
Colby has two games left with Dodge, and with a sweep would be 14-10 also. But, like Seward, Barton took 3 for 4 from Colby this year.
Saturday’s completion of the Seward contest didn’t take long. Barton had a 9-0 lead into the bottom of the third when the game was called off in Liberal 10 days ago.
Barton had scored four in the first and four more in the third inning.
Saturday in Dodge City where the two teams met to finish the game, Barton added another run in the fifth inning for a 10-0 lead before Seward finally got on the board with a single run in the bottom of the inning for the final.
Andreana Reynolds had given Barton a 2-0 lead back on April 13 with a first-inning triple to score Jayden Gonzales and Payton Reynolds. A Payton Summers double scored Reynolds to make it 3-0 and Kaci Isaacson drove in Summers for a 4-0 lead.
A Lydia Konrade 3-run homer in the third pushed the lead to 8-0 and it eventually got to 9-0 before weather ended it for the day.
Saturday, Leilani Medina doubled in Isaacson in the fifth to make it 10-0 as Barton won quicker than the trip to Dodge City took.
The Cougars will complete the regular season at Butler Sunday before Region VI playoff action starts Friday.