The Coffeyville Red Ravens would walk it off not just once, but twice to take two victories over the Barton Cougars, 5-4 and 10-9.
Things didn't look good for the Ravens at first. An RBI single and a solo homerun gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead after the top of the 3rd inning. Fortunately, Coffeyville was able to tie, and eventually surpass, Barton after scoring 2 of their own in the bottom half of that same inning, and then adding another in the 4th after an RBI double. The two teams traded a few more runs after that, but Coffeyville had a chance to end things in the 7th after forcing a ground-ball and potential double-play. However, an error sent the ball flying out of play, allowing the tying run to cross home plate and forcing a bottom of the 7th. The Ravens needed their first dose of heroics on the afternoon, and they got it from third baseman Quinton Carlberg. With the game-winning run standing just 90 feet away, he'd sent a line drive just over the head of the right fielder to bring the game to its end.
Reliever Alex Galvez earned the win for the Ravens, while Barton's Carson Cornelius took the loss after giving up the game-winning hit.
After the first 5 innings of the second game, you'd be forgiven if you thought Coffeyville would cruise to another victory. The Ravens broke through Barton starter David Stuart and reliever Bryan Bartels, sending 10 to the plate and scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the 5th to take a 9-4 lead. However, a win over a solid team like Barton never truly comes easy, with the Cougars immediately scoring 4 of those runs back in 6th and tying it back up at 9 in the 8th. For the second time, entering the bottom of the 9th, Coffeyville needed a hero to avoid extra innings. This time, they'd get it from pinch hitter Tyler Massey, entering the game to lead off. He'd need just 3 pitches to decide everything.
Korben Ford, usually a position player, earned his first win on the mound this season, striking out 4 in just under 2 innings of work. Barton's Hollis Huff went 3 innings before giving up the game-deciding homer, taking the loss.
Coffeyville is now 24-17 on the season, and get back to .500 in conference play at 13-13. The Cougars will look for revenge Saturday, as Coffeyville heads to Great Bend for the back half of the series. Those two games will not be broadcast, but we'll return to Walter Johnson Park next Thursday as the Ravens host Neosho.
