The Barton Community College baseball team is slated to start Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division play in Garden City on Saturday and Sunday with the games starting at 1 p.m. — unless inclement weather prevents it.
The teams will be playing seven-inning and nine-inning games both on Saturday and Sunday.
The Cougars are coming off of a 5-game home stretch where they went 2-3, giving them a 6-5 overall record.
BCC lost its home-opener against Western Nebraska, 9-6 in 10 innings. The Cougars split the following double header, winning 8-3 in the first game, but losing 3-1 to close the three-game series.
The Cougars received solid pitching Sunday, including four shutout innings from starter Jordan Hill. Ben French, pitched two innings in relief and allowed a pair of unearned runs before giving way to Ian Smith who earned the save. Hill got the win in his first action on the mound this season.
The Cougars started things Saturday on the right foot, pounding out nine hits in the 8-3 win. The Cougars scored four in the first and four in the third. Dylan Monroe had three hits while Michael Tennessen drove in two on a two-run double in the third. Miller and Slauter each scored two times while Robbie Van Cour picked up the win, going 4 1/3 innings allowing one earned run.
The Cougars had trouble hitting and fielding the ball in the nightcap, keeping Barton from the sweep Saturday. Western Nebraska scored three unearned runs in the win thanks to Barton errors. Western scored twice in the sixth without a batted ball leaving the infield.
Barton rallied from a 4-0 deficit Friday to take a 5-4 lead in the nine-inning game. Western Nebraska tied the game in the eighth on an unearned run before scoring four times in the 10th to pick up the win in extra innings. Miller, Slauter and Ian Smith all collected a pair of hits with Slauter driving in three and Smith scoring twice.