Howse walk-off caps 6th ranked Barton Baseball run-rule victory over KCK in District winner's bracket #GoBarton

Dryden Howse's lone hit of the evening sent the 6th ranked Barton Community College baseball team to a walk off 14-5 run-rule shortened seventh inning victory over Kansas City Kansas Community College Wednesday evening at Wichita State University's Eck Stadium in the opening round of the Region VI/Plains District Tournament.

Eclipsing the 50-win mark for the first time in program history, the victory moves the Cougars to 50-8 overall while advancing to Thursday's 7:00 p.m. winner's bracket semifinal matchup against No. 4 seeded Cowley Community College (36-20) after the Tigers defeated Cloud County Community College 3-1. The Blue Devils fall to 37-22 overall and will play in Thursday's 1:00 p.m. elimination game against Cloud County Community College.

Quinton Robertson and Grant Nottlemann paced the Barton bats fabricating six of the 12 Cougar hits out of the No. 6 and No. 7 spots in the lineup.

Robertson turned in a perfect 3-of-3 day at the plate while assembling two of Barton's five extra base hits with one of his two doubles plating the first of a five run fifth inning.

Nottlemann fashioned a 3-of-4 performance at the dish with three singles including a sixth inning RBI single forming the first of a two-run response in the home sixth.

Despite recording one hit apiece on the evening, Riley Silva and Howse drove in six of the 12 Cougar runs.

Silva singled home the first of his three runs in the second capping a three-run frame with the other two runs brought across on groundouts in the fourth and fifth innings.

Howse finalized the scoring in the home seventh lacing a no-doubt three-run dinger over the center field fence for his team leading seventh home run of the season to walk it off in run-rule fashion.

Starting pitcher David Stuart (8-3) gave the Cougars five solid innings scattering seven hits, four earned runs allowed. The sophomore walked two and fanned five moving into a fifth-place tie with fellow teammate Zach Thornton for most strikeouts in a single season, at 91. Earning his eighth victory of the season and joining teammates Owen Reynolds and Tegan Cain, Stuart now sits in an eighth-place tie for most wins in a single season.

Bryan Bartels tossed one inning in relief yielding one hit while Reece Hemmerling worked the final frame allowing one hit and a walk.