Cloud County Baseball Sweeps Baker University JV in Monday Doubleheader

Scoring 18 of their 22 runs in the fifth and sixth innings across two games, the Cloud County Community College baseball team would pick up a 10-0 six-inning win before earning a 12-5 victory to sweep a home doubleheader against the Baker University JV team at Lee Doyen Field in Concordia, Kansas on Monday, April 10th.

The two victories see the T-Birds improve to 22-15 overall while picking up their 11th and 12th home wins of the season with a 3-1 mark as part of a current six-game homestand.

GAME ONE:
Never trailing in the opening game, CCCC would work around a hit batter, walk, and base hit to force the Wildcats to leave the bases loaded in the top of the first before plating two runs on just one hit in the bottom of the inning as a wild pitch on a third strike would set up a Danny Infante RBI triple before a Landon Meyer RBI groundout to give the T-Birds a 2-0 lead after an inning.

The game would remain a 2-0 contest in favor of CCCC through the fourth inning as Baker JV would be held without a hit over the next three innings with the T-Birds recording two more hits while being unable to add to their lead. Things would finally change in the bottom of the fifth as a fielding error with one out would start a Cloud County rally with Demitri Shakotko hitting an RBI double before an RBI single for Infante and RBI single for Anthony Taggart to make the score 5-0 in favor of CCCC. The T-Birds would go on to add one more run in the inning with a triple from Brock Wollin to cap off a four-run inning on four hits.

Reliever Scott Rienguette would follow with his third shutout inning of the game on the mound by striking out the side in the top of the sixth to allow CCCC to get back to the plate with Diaz due up as each of the first five players in the inning would safely reach base. Having scored runs on a Diaz RBI double to score Eric Foufoulas who drew a leadoff walk before seeing Diaz score on a Key'Ahn Taylor RBI single. Needing just two more runs to finish the game by run rule, the T-Birds would successfully do so by getting a fielder's choice from Meyer as Baker JV would elect to try and cut down Aidan Malish at the plate but beat a throw that would be offline and end up to the backstop to allow Shakotko to score from second to end the game.

Giving up just two hits defensively while combining for a two-hit shutout, CCCC would see Will Yamka pick up the win after throwing the first inning and striking out two as part of a pre-determined staff outing with John Klus adding another two strikeouts in two innings of work. Rienguette would enter with the score still just a 2-0 advantage for the T-Birds and strike out seven over three innings while facing the minimum number of batters to pick up his first save of the year.

Offensively, Infante and Alex Diaz would lead Cloud County with two hits each with Infante and Meyer each driving in two runs while four other players would collect one hit each. Striking out just two times as a team, the T-Birds would strand just four runners while driving in nine of the 10 runs scored in the contest.

GAME TWO:
After working six shutout innings in the opener, Cloud County would see Baker JV manager to turn a leadoff single and stolen base into a run as a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch would bring home the first run of the afternoon to take a 1-0 lead that would turn into a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on two more hits. The T-Birds would get both runs back in the bottom of the second as a Gavin Roy leadoff single would come around to score on a Justin Johnson RBI double before seeing a Logan Scully RBI double score Johnson to tie the game at 2-2.

Neither team would push across any runs in the third before seeing Cloud County break the game open in the bottom of the fourth as three of the first four batters of the inning would reach base with singles followed by a walk for Shakotko and RBI single for Infante with the T-Birds scoring six runs on five hits to take an 8-2 lead heading to the fifth. Baker JV would score two runs in the top of the fifth as a leadoff walk would be followed by back-to-back base hits and a walk to bring the Wildcats back within four at 8-4 before seeing four runs come home for CCCC in the bottom of the fifth with Infante, Wollin, and Roy all recording RBI base hits.

Baker JV would add on more run in the top of the fifth as a leadoff walk would come around to score following two wild pitches and a base hit up the middle before an infield popout and flyout to center field would end the inning without any real threat being posed by the Wildcat offense. With an opportunity to end things in the bottom of the inning, Cloud County would load the bases with two outs and the heart of the order due up in Infante but ultimately come up empty as a flyout would end the inning and send things to the top of the seventh. No real threat would be posed again by Baker JV in the final inning of play as two quick outs would be followed by a walk before seeing a strikeout end the game and allow the T-Birds to pick up the doubleheader sweep.

Putting together a 14-hit effort, Cloud County would see Infante once again lead the charge with a three-hit and two-RBI effort as part of a three-for-five game at the plate while seeing Roy and Johnson each drive in two runs on two hits. Six different pitchers would see time on the mound for CCCC in the contest, with John Green picking up his first victory of the year after a scoreless fourth inning thrown with only starting pitcher Luke Schmedding throwing more than one inning by tossing the first two innings.

What's Next?
Cloud County will open a four-game Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference series with Garden City Community College beginning on Thursday, April 13th with a 1 PM doubleheader at Lee Doyen Field. The Broncbusters have lost their last five games heading into a 1 Pm home contest on Tuesday afternoon against Otero College and currently hold a 7-32 overall record with a 3-17 mark in the KJCCC.