ALVA, Oklahoma — On the backs of some incredible pitching performances, the Cloud County Community College baseball team got off to an ideal start inside the KJCCC West as it swept Friday's doubleheader against Pratt Community College, 2-0 and 11-2, to open the conference season.

The starting pitching duo of sophomore Austen Seidel and freshman Josh Laukkanen combined to throw 14 innings of two-run baseball, allowing just six hits and striking out 17 while not issuing a walk.

Relief pitchers Bradan Pierce and Joseph Karall each threw spotless innings in Game Two, giving the T-Birds (8-4 overall, 2-0 KJCCC) a total of 20 strikeouts and no walks in 16 innings on the afternoon.

"Josh and Austen each executed very, very good pitches all day," said Cloud County head coach, Eric Gilliland. "Joe and Bradan both came in and had excellent stuff at the end of Game Two, as well. We set the tone for the day on the mound."

Seidel took the ball in Game One and flirted with a perfect game heading into the sixth inning. A questionable error call led to the first base runner for Pratt (12-5 overall, 0-2 KJCCC) to lead off the sixth. And a one-out single into left field for Michael Davis in the seventh was all that separated Seidel from perfection on Friday.

He'd finish with a final line of seven innings, one hit and nine strikeouts en route to moving to 1-1 overall and lowering his ERA to 3.31 on the season.

"The adjustment we tried to make after his start against Neosho County was to be more efficient. He was deep in counts so often his last start that he couldn't get deep into the game," Gilliland said. "Today he did a great job of getting early outs inside the zone and then still striking guys out. He was much more efficient and had four pitches working for strikes."

Cloud County's offense provided Seidel with all the run support he'd need with a two-run forth inning, with one run coming across via a Pratt error and a sacrifice fly from redshirt freshman Ramon Vingochea.

The Cloud County bats came to life in Game Two, producing 11 runs on nine hits, including a six-run fourth inning that broke the game open.

Sophomore outfielder Grant Schmidt deposited his first home run of the season to get the rally started; just one of a handful of atom bombs the big right-hander hit on Friday despite finishing 1-for-5.

"Grant hit about 3-4 balls on the screws and didn't get rewarded with more hits," Gilliland said. "Having that guy in the middle of the order to make opponents fear getting through the middle is huge. Hopefully his luck will start evening out."

Freshman shortstop Connor Laux also had a strong day at the plate, finishing 2-for-5 with a run scored and three driven in from the No. 2 spot in the order.

He delivered a two-run single up the middle as part of the T-Birds' fourth inning surge and came around to score on a RBI single by sophomore Kade Wallace.

Cloud County would also add a run in the fifth and three in the seventh to put a bow on the 11-2 final and doubleheader sweep.

Freshman leadoff hitter Clayton Loranger had a big day atop the order, finishing 1-for-2 with three walks, a stolen base and four runs scored, while Wallace (2-for-4) and Davis Pratt (2-for-5) joined Laux with multi-hit games.

On the bump, Laukkanen worked seven strong innings as he limited Pratt to two runs, one earned, on five hits while striking out eight to earn his first collegiate win.

Due to the freezing temperatures and mountains of snow still littered across Concordia, the two teams played Friday's games at a neutral site in Alva, Oklahoma on the Northwestern Oklahoma State University campus.

With the prospects of a home game not likely until April, Gilliland said his team has embraced the "Road Warrior" mentality.

"The ballpark was beautiful here and we're just embracing being on the road. This team doesn't know what it's like to be at home yet, so we're just embracing it and learning how to win on the road," Gilliland said. "When we do get to play at home, it'll feel like Opening Day."

Cloud County will look to notch a few more road wins Sunday when it concludes the four-game series with another doubleheader, this time in Pratt. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

"Pratt is a good team. They were 12-3 entering today for a reason and we're probably going to face probably the best pitcher (Lucas Wepf) in the Jayhawk Conference in Game One on Sunday," Gilliland said. "We know we're going to get everything they've got and it'll be a whole different day. We'll have to be ready to go out and try to win a series on the road."