Cloud County Baseball Upsets #4 Iowa Western, 4-2

Fresh off a four-game conference sweep of Pratt Community College, the Cloud County Community College baseball team kept the momentum rolling into a Monday afternoon non-conference matchup with number four nationally-ranked Iowa Western Community College to win by a score of 4-2 at the Dr. John and Jean Marshall Baseball and Softball Complex in Council Bluffs, Iowa on March 18th.

Earning their 20th win of the season, Cloud County avenges last week's loss to the Reivers while improving to 20-7 overall. IWCC sees a 10-game winning streak snapped with the loss and drops to 17-5 overall after being held to a season-low in runs.

After dropping a home game to Iowa Western last Tuesday by a score of 6-2, CCCC broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth with a one-out Nolan Freund double that was followed by a Jakob Poturnak RBI single to give the T-Birds a 1-0 lead that was doubled in the top of the fifth as Cloud County used a Gavin Roy two-out RBI single to score Paul Schuyler. Keeping the Reivers hitless through four innings of play, CCCC saw Iowa Western get a one-out single and two-out single to threaten to get on the scoreboard but stranded both runners as a fly out into right field ended the inning and allowed the T-Birds to remain out in front 2-0.

Adding to their lead in the top of the sixth, Cloud County used a leadoff walk from Demitri Shakotko and Poturnak one-out walk to put two runners on base before two wild pitches that allowed both runners to advance each time and make it a 3-0 game. With a chance to add to their lead even more with Poturnak at third, CCCC saw an IWCC pitching change lead to back-to-back outs to end the inning as a pair of T-Birds were stranded to end the inning. Defensively, the Cloud County pitching staff went back to work with reliever John Klus retiring the Reivers in order in each of the next three innings to allow CCCC to maintain their lead as the 3-0 lead grew one final time in the top of the ninth. In the final opportunity at the plate for the T-Birds, Cloud County put together a two-out rally with a Roy single and advancement on a wild pitch set up a Freund RBI single to add an insurance run to put CCCC up 4-0.

Finishing out the win did not come easy, however, as a one-out walk for Iowa Western started a bottom-of-the-ninth rally with a single and hit batter loading the bases before a two-RBI single that put the game-tying runner aboard in a 4-2 contest. Opting for a pinch-runner to try and get some added speed on the base paths, the Reivers were not able to capitalize any further on their best offensive opportunity of the day as infield popup was cleanly caught by Roy at shortstop to end the game and allowed the T-Birds to split their season series with IWCC.

Surrendering just four hits in the game, Cloud County saw a 30-inning scoreless streak on the mound come to an end in the bottom of the ninth as the T-Birds have allowed just six runs over the past 37 innings of baseball with a four-run bottom of the sixth by Pratt in game one of their four-game series and the two-run ninth by the Reivers being the only innings that runs have been scored in the past two weeks. Meanwhile, CCCC recorded 12 hits with Schuyler (three), Roy (two), Freund (two), and Poturnak (two) all having multi-hit games. Roy, Fruend, and Poturnak each drove in one run while seeing Shakotko draw two of the four walks issued to Cloud County in the game. On the mound, Ethan Price opened the game for CCCC and threw two shutout innings with one strikeout before seeing Klus go the final seven innings for a career-long outing, giving up two runs on four hits while inducing 13 flyouts and seven groundouts.

What's Next?
Cloud County will put their unblemished 8-0 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference mark on the line when they open a four-game series with Seward County Community College with a 1 PM doubleheader at Lee Doyen Field on Thursday, March 21st. Game one of the series is expected to feature a pair of pitchers that have already signed National Letters of Intent to play at the Power 5 Level next season with Cloud County's Kevin Mannell (Mississippi State University) set to face off with Seward's Brian Luna Alvarez (Texas Tech University).