The Barton Community College softball team opened the 2014 season on Wednesday in Colorado, dropping a pair of games to host Lamar.
The Lady Cougars dug an early hole in Game 1 to lose 10-0 in five innings, but battled tough in Game 2, eventually falling 8-5.  Weather permitting, Barton will have their home opener on Sunday in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Cougar Field against Pratt.
Lamar roughed up Barton freshman pitcher Jaelyn Monhollon for four runs in the first inning as the Runnin’ Lopes led 9-0 through the first three innings.
With very few opportunities to get on an actual softball field this spring, the Lady Cougars suffered through offensive and defensive woes in dropping the 10-0 decision.
Sophomore Ashlyn Osborne took the circle for Game 2, helping her cause with a second-inning leadoff home run.
Fellow sophomore Britney Meyer followed with a triple, but the Lady Cougars couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity stranding Meyer.
Lamar answered in the home half of the second with two runs, but Barton struck back to tie in the top of the third as freshman Erica Harper singled home Emilia Davies from second base.
The Runnin’ Lopes seemed to have taken command, getting three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but again the Lady Cougars struck back. Freshman Allison Smith came through with a big two-out, two-run single up the middle to draw Barton back to within one.
Getting an RBI triple to highlight a two-run fifth, Lamar tacked on an insurance run in the home half of the sixth to lead 7-4.
After hitting only one homerun last season, Osborne hit her second home run of the day blasting a one-out pitch over the center-field wall.