CENTRAL, S.C. – The Barton baseball team (22-12, 14-7) split a Conference Carolinas doubleheader with Southern Wesleyan (8-27, 7-14) Saturday afternoon at Dr. C. Keith Connor Field. The Warriors pulled out the first game by a 3-2 score while the Bulldogs won over Southern Wesleyan in 11 innings, 9-6, to salvage the split and take two of three in the weekend series.
Game One – Southern Wesleyan 3, Barton 2 (seven innings)
The Warriors scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to lift Southern Wesleyan to the win as the home team spotted the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage after the first half-inning of play.
An RBI sacrifice fly by Cam Mitchell (North Augusta, S.C.) in the bottom of the fifth frame proved to the game-winner for the Warriors. Southern Wesleyan's Gage Shaver (Ringgold, Ga.) (1-4) went the distance and struck out five batters for his first victory of the year.
For Barton, senior shortstop
Luis Sauri (Buena, N.J.) drove in a run but senior
Matthew Rivers (Kernersville, N.C.) fell to 2-2 on the year despite pitching the complete game and allowing just one earned run while striking out six batters.
Game Two – Barton 9, Southern Wesleyan 6 (11 innings)
Barton senior first baseman
Chase Waddell (Lucama, N.C.) finished with three hits and three runs batted in as the Bulldogs rallied from a 4-0 deficit to force extra innings and split the doubleheader. Waddell hit a two-run single in a three-run 11th inning for the Bulldogs.
Mitchell helped stake Southern Wesleyan to a four-run advantage thanks to an RBI double and a three-run home run in the first and fifth innings, respectively.
Sauri added two hits and two runs batted in while senior
Ryan Gordon (York, Pa.) (1-1) retired the final 10 batters and did not allow a run in picking up the win. Southern Wesleyan's Logan Brazell (Bryan County, Ga.) (0-1) was tagged with the loss.
Barton returns home to host Virginia State on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m., at Nixon Field while Southern Wesleyan hosts Georgia College Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.
