GREAT BEND, Kan. - A sputtering offense in game one for the Dodge City Community College baseball team left the Conquistadors with a 10-4 loss before two key defensive plays helped preserve a 9-8 win over Barton Community College to come away with a Sunday split at Lawson-Biggs Field in Great Bend, Kansas on March 19th. 

DC3 comes away from the four-game series 2-2 to stand at 17-7 overall 24 games into the season and 9-3 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while the Cougars improved to 20-6 overall and 5-3 in the KJCCC. 

Dodge City never led in the first game of the twin bill as BCCC would score in every offensive inning. Trailing 1-0 after one, the Conquistadors would knot the game at one on a Talon Schaller solo home run over the left field wall but could not get anything else going in the inning. A leadoff triple and one-out walk would give the Cougars two men on when leadoff hitter Michael Sinks broke the deadlock with a three-run shot to center field over the wall to make the score 4-1. DC3 would go down in order in the third before Barton would add a single run to extend their lead to 5-1 with the Conquistadors still struggling to get things going offensively. A solo home run by the Cougars would be the only scoring had in the fourth inning as Dodge City would cut into the BCCC lead in the top of the fifth with a Cade Engle sacrifice fly to score Jon Coss who led off the inning with a double. Barton would respond with a single run in the fifth before tacking on three in the sixth to push their lead out to 10-2 heading into the seventh where DC3 would score runs on a Trevor Close RBI single and passed ball but would see their rally fall short. 

Joe Buckendorf (3-2) took the loss, going four innings and giving up six runs on seven hits while striking out five. Eric Lindsay would throw two innings and give up four runs on four hits. Coss would collect hits in both of his at-bats in the game while Richard Fullerton and Jonny Chavez would add the other extra-base hits in addition to Coss's double and Schaller's home run.

 Another slow start to game two would find Dodge City in an early 2-0 hole just an inning into the game before scratching across single runs in the second and third innings on a Gavin Gifford solo home run in the second and Brayden Cook RBI single in the third. With the game tied at two heading into the top of the fifth inning, DC3 drew consecutive one-out walks followed by a hit-by-pitch to load the bases which allowed for Gifford to once again come through with the big hit. The Brighton, CO native would send out a two-RBI single to center field to score Cook and Engle before a Schaller sacrifice fly and Jake Pederson RBI double would push the Dodge City lead to 6-2 and in control midway through the game. Barton would go 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame before the Conquistadors would follow suit in the top of the sixth as Barton would push across an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 6-3. 

Dodge City would get three much-needed insurance runs in the top of the seventh with Tate delivering a one-out double to score Engle before being brought in on a Pederson RBI single followed by a Fullerton RBI single to double the DC3 lead at 9-3 and just nine outs away from the victory. BCCC would not go quietly, scoring one run in the bottom of the seventh and stranding a runner on second before retiring Dodge City in order in the eighth as things would get interesting down the stretch. A one-out solo home run followed by two consecutive singles would allow for pinch-hitter Kaden Fowler to clear the bases with a three-run home run to right field and make the Dodge City lead go from 9-5 to 9-8. Dalton Harvey would then enter the game and end the threat in the eighth as Tate would make a diving stop down the line at third base before throwing across the diamond to end the inning and preserve the one-run lead for
DC3. 

Dodge City would go quietly in the top of the ninth before a leadoff triple would put the game-tying run on third for the Cougars followed by a strikeout to keep the runner at third with one out. A slow roller to Cook at second would force the Conquistadors to make a play at the plate as 
Cook would put the throw on the money to get the runner at home and keep the game 9-8 and Dodge City just one out away from holding on to the win. Harvey would take matters into his own hands following a wild pitch by striking out Brett Bonar to end the game. 

Cole Brandon would get the win on the mound, tossing seven innings and fanning three batters while Harvey would pick up the save by throwing the final 1.2 innings. Four Conquistadors would collect multiple hits in the game led by Pederson who went three-for-five with one extra-base hit and two runs batted in. 

A rare mid-week single non-conference game is in store for Dodge City on Wednesday, March 22nd when the Conquistadors travel to Lamar Community College for a 2 p.m. (MDT) nine-inning game.