STERLING— The weather seemed to be the only thing that was going to stop the Barton Community College softball team Saturday – and it did.

Barton rolled to a 13-2 win over the Sterling junior varisty in the first of two scheduled games then the weather won the second game – cancelling play in the second inning.

The win crept the Cougars to within one game of the 30-win plateau. Barton is 29-15 on the season.

Barton took a 1-0 lead in the first Saturday when Kylie Everill singled in Brianna Ward. The Cougars blew the game open in the third.

Everill again provided the spark with a triple to score Ward and Erica Harper. She scored on a Holly Posegate sac fly. After singles by Jenna Hosey and Caitlin Garcia, McKenna Mauler doubled in Hosey and Bailey Hensley singed in a Garcia and Mauler to make it 7-0.

Ward singled to put runners on the corner for Harper. She blasted her 18th home run of the season – a 3-run shot to left and capped a 9-run inning to give Barton a 10-0.

That essentially ended the suspense in the outcome.

Sterling was able to cut it to 10-2 heading into the fifth when the Cougars tacked on three more. Hosey drove in two with a single to center to score Harper and Abby Tipton. The final run came on a Garcia single to score Samantha White.

Everill ended the contest 3-for-3 with three RBI. Ward was also 3-for-3 and scored three times. Harper added a pair of hits with three RBI and three runs scored. Holly Posegate went the distance to improve to 13-7.

Harper’s 18th home run has her sitting third in the nation currently. Shea Ibrahim of the College of Southern Idaho leads the nation with 20 and Connors State’s (Okla) Kristen Reasnor has 19. Her 72 RBI are also third nationally.

Barton will host Garden City Tuesday in the next-to-last doubleheader of the conference slate. The two teams are tied for third in the West. Barton is 10-10 while Garden City (23-22) is 9-9.