If the Barton baseball team was to pick a 4-game series in the Jayhawk conference to lose, this past weekend fit that bill rather nicely.

You see this weekend’s 4-game set was against a Jayhawk East team and it didn’t count toward the West standings.

So when Barton lost its first series of the season, it didn’t not hurt their standing at the top of the conference.

The Cougars were swept in Coffeyville Thursday afternoon. The return trip to Great Bend Saturday had a better outcome for the Cougars but not much.

In the end, Coffeyville won the series, 3-1, after the teams split at Barton. It is the second series Barton lost this year. The other was to East foe Kansas City Kansas.

The Cougars are still leading the West with an 18-6 record in conference play. Cloud is next at 19-7 with two games at Seward today. Colby is also in the mix at 16-8.

The next two West series for Barton will be against those two teams.

After losing two on the road Thursday, Barton built a big lead in the opener, lost that lead in dramatic fashion, then won in dramatic fashion in, 12-11. The Cougars never led in a tight nightcap, falling 5-4.

Coffeyville sits in the middle of the East standings and is 25-17 overall. Barton is 31-14.

Barton was in complete control in the opener, leading throughout the contest.

The Cougars scored four in the first, four more in the third and led 8-0. The Cougars took a 10-3 lead into the seventh and scheduled final inning.

It was then things fell apart. Coffeyville scored seven times in the inning to send the contest into extra innings.

The Red Ravens even took an 11-10 lead in the 8th before Barton tied it on a Chandler MIller double that scored Connor Allen.

Barton won it in the bottom of the ninth in memorable fashion - especially for Dryden Howse - on a leadoff home run to center field.

For Howse, it was the final touch on a great day at the plate. The freshman from Canada was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles to go with the walkoff home run. Howse drove in two and scored twice.

Henry Hayman also homered in the game, a 3-run shot in the bottom of the third to make it an 8-0 game.

Jace Stewart and Joel Nieves each drove in a pair in the win. Allen and Tyler Schrag each scored twice in the win.

The nightcap was tight throughout.

Both teams plated two runs in the opening inning as Hayman and Howse each drove in runs again.

The game remained 2-all until the fifth when the Red Ravens scored a single run to take a 3-2 lead. It grew to 5-2 in the sixth of the scheduled seven-inning contest.

Barton did have a rally. Three straight 2-out singles loaded the bases and an error brought in Nieves to cut it to 5-3. Howse was hit by a pitch to score Alex Rodgers and the lead was just 5-4.

The Cougars threatened again in the seventh but came up empty. Barton put runners on first and second with a couple outs but that is where they stayed.

Barton will be Hesston for a single game Tuesday before a big series this weekend against Cloud County. The two teams will open in Great Bend Thursday for two starting at 1 pm. The series will wrap up in Concordia Saturday with a 1 pm first pitch as well.

Game1

Barton 12, Coffeyville 11

Cville    000  030  710 - 11 11 2

Barton  404  002  011 - 12 12 2

Spry, Aytes (3), Benefel (5), Kennett (6), Quarles (7), Galvez (8) and Graves; Reynolds, Ellison (6), Lanik (7), Cornelius (7) and Allen. W - Cornelius (1-3). L - Galvez (2-1). 2B - Devescery, Coffeyville; Sanchez, Howse 2, Stewart, Miller, Barton. 3B - Mannix, Coffeyville. HR - Negron, Coffeyville; Hayman (5), Howse (1), Barton.

Game 2

Coffeyville 5, Barton 4

Cville    200  012  0 - 5  6  1

Barton  200  002  0 - 4  8  1

Lopez, Mahoney (5), Ford (6) and Graves; Cain, Riley (4), Kohlmeier (6) and Ellison. W - Lopez (2-1). L - Riley (x). S - Ford (1). 2B - Cates, Coffyville; Rodgers, Barton. 3B - Cates, Coffeyville; Miller, Barton.