Barton baseball takes two on Senior Day over Chowan, 11-0 and 9-6

WILSON, N.C. – The Barton baseball team (34-14, 17-13) swept Chowan (8-36, 4-26), 11-0 and 9-6, in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Nixon Field.  With the victories, the Bulldogs set a new school single-season record for wins in the NCAA Division II era.

Game One – Barton 11, Chowan 0 (seven innings)
Barton senior Matt Rivers (Kernersville, N.C.) threw six shutout innings while striking out six batters in improving to 5-2 on the season and junior outfielder Evan Harding (Clayton, N.C.) and senior designated hitter Tanner Halvorson (Eau Claire, Wisc.) hit home runs to lead the Bulldogs.

Both Harding and Halvorson had three runs batted in while Nicky Wohleking (Kilmarnock, Va.) fell to 0-8 after taking the loss for the Hawks.

Game Two – Barton 9, Chowan 6
Barton junior catcher Chase Waddell (Lucama, N.C.) hit the game-winning, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning and finished three-for-three on the day as the Bulldogs rallied from a 5-0 deficit to complete the sweep of the Hawks.

Barton senior outfielder Josh Hoffman (Belle Vernon, Pa.) added a two-run triple in the six-run seventh frame and finished with three runs batted in for the home team.  Barton graduate student A.J. Campbell (Absecon, N.J.) earned the win in relief and improved to 4-2 on the season and senior Brett Anderson (Milford, N.H.) registered the final two outs for his second save of the year.

Barton graduate student Matthew Rivera (Egg Harbor City, N.C.) got the rally started with his team-leading eighth home run of the year in the bottom of the sixth inning.

For Chowan, Patrick Krack (Nottingham, Md.) finished with three hits and two RBI while Konnor Tomczak (Suffolk, Va.) (0-1) was tagged with the loss.

Barton will next compete in the 2024 Conference Carolinas Championship which is taking place at CaroMount Health Park in Gastonia, N.C., beginning on Wednesday, May 1.  The Bulldogs are the sixth seed in the tournament and will take on third-seeded Mount Olive (34-14) on Thursday beginning at 7:00 p.m.