It was a bad day to be a pitcher.

It's a good thing, then, that Zach Barney isn't one.

The Karns City catcher traded giving signs for taking them and hurled five one-hit innings of relief to preserve a doubleheader split with rival Moniteau in an 11-6 win in Game 2 at Pullman Park Monday night.

Moniteau won the first game, 8-7.

It was the first time Barney, a senior, has pitched at the high school level.

“He's been asking and asking and asking to pitch,” said Karns City coach Randy Collins. “But he's been stuck behind the plate. I told him, ‘This is your chance.'”

He didn't disappoint.

Barney struck out five, didn't walk a batter and gave up just one hit, a single by Kyle Armagost to lead off the fifth inning. Armagost stole second and came around to score on back-to-back balks by Barney — proof that this pitching thing was new to him.

The door opened for Barney to pitch, oddly, because he was injured.

Barney missed two games, which forced freshman Tyler Kepple behind the plate. Kepple did an admirable job in Barney's stead, giving Collins the confidence to use his senior catcher elsewhere.

Collins didn't close the door on Barney making more pitching appearances as the playoffs loom.

“It's possible,” Collins said, smiling. “He pitched well — except for the balks.”

Karns City (12-2) needed all the arms it could get against Moniteau.

The Warriors banged out 12 hits in the first game and jumped out to an early 7-3 lead.

Karns City, though, rallied to tie the game at 7-7 in the top of the fifth inning, scoring a run thanks to one of the seven errors committed in the game by Moniteau.

But the Warriors (9-7) struck back in the bottom of the frame with a solo home run by Josh Stockert, who also picked up the win on the mound in relief.

Moniteau struck early and often against Karns City starter Brian Best, swinging at the first pitch with good results in nearly every at-bat.

“Our approach all year is to try to be aggressive at the plate,” said Moniteau coach Ross Martin. “We hadn't done it. This was a pleasant surprise today to finally jump on someone early.”

By swinging in early counts, the Warriors avoided falling behind and allowed them to feast on fastballs.

“I think we realized what we can do early in the count when we are expecting fastballs,” Martin said. “When we get off balance and look at offspeed stuff, we have problems.”

Best lasted just two innings, but Ethan Williams relieved to start the third and surrendered just one run over four innings.

Williams pitched so well that Collins decided to give him the start in the second game.

After more than 30 minutes between games for senior night festivities, Williams was not the same to start Game 2.

Moniteau, using the same aggressive approach that served it so well in the opener, took a 5-2 lead in the top of the second inning. The big blow was a grand slam by Armagost.

That lead, though, was short-lived.

Karns City matched Moniteau's outburst with a five-run inning of its own in the bottom of the second, keyed by RBI singles by Best and Barney and a two-run single by Brad Francis.

“The offense came back for us again,” Collins said. “The offense has been there for us all year long.”

Francis had a big day at the plate in both games. He had two triples, two singles and drove in four runs.

Barney also had a nice day at the plate. He hit an opposite field home run in the first game and added a run-scoring single in the nightcap.

Stockert drove in four runs in the two games, including his game-winning Game 1 homer, for Moniteau.

Both teams have one game remaining against Keystone before the District 9 playoffs begin next week. The brackets are due to come out at midnight Wednesday.

“After today, I don't feel real good defensively,” said Martin, who watched his team commit 12 errors in the two games, nine on throwing miscues. “We were pretty sloppy today. But we have a couple of good games defensively last week. If we get that taking care of, I feel pretty good.”

Game 1Karns City 211 210 0 — 7 8 3Moniteau 520 010 x — 8 12 7W: Josh Stockert 2.1IP (1K, 2BB).

L: Ethan Williams 4IP (5K, 1BB).

Karns City: Zach Barney HR RBI, Brad Francis 3B 1B RBI, Brian Best 1B RBI

Moniteau: 2-1B, Heath Lominski 2B 2-1B 2-RBI, Josh Stockert 2-1B HR 3-RBI

Game 2Moniteau 050 010 0 — 6 4 5Karns City 250 130 x — 11 11 2W: Zach Barney 5IP (5K, 0BB).

L: Colton Cumberland 1.1IP (1K, 1BB).

Moniteau (9-7): Armagost HR 1B 4-RBI, Stockert 1B RBI

Karns City (12-2): Brian Best 3-1B 3-R, Zach Barney 1B RBI, Brad Francis 3B 1B 3-RBI, Brad Fuhrer 1B RBI, Brandyn Bowser 1B RBI, Jerod Hutchison 2-2B RBI

Tuesday: Moniteau at Keystone

Wednesday: Karns City at Keystone