CONCORDIA, Kan. – Coming off a doubleheader sweep in their 2021 home opener on Friday, the Cloud County Community College baseball team would be limited to just one run in a 4-1 loss before bouncing back to win 14-8 and claim a series victory over Marshalltown Community College at Lee Doyen Field in Concordia, Kansas on Saturday, February 27th.
Taking the series three games to one, Cloud County improves to 5-4 overall on the year while the Tigers open their season by dropping three of four games and is now 1-3 overall.
GAME ONE:
After jumping on the Tigers early in both games on Friday, the T-Birds would struggle throughout the opening game on Saturday as CCCC would be limited to just six hits while stranding eight runners and go just four-for-13 with runners on base.
Taking advantage of three wild pitches, two walks, and an error in the top of the first, Marshalltown would jump out to a 2-0 run after an inning of play before adding two more in the top of the second to go up 4-0 and put Cloud County in their largest hole of the weekend. The four runs given up by CCCC would force T-Bird head coach Eric Gilliland to go to the bullpen early as starter Aaron Hayes would last just one inning-plus before seeing Connor Woods come on in relief.
Things would stay a 4-0 deficit for Cloud County throughout both the third and fourth innings as the Tiger offense would see Cloud County settle in defensively to limit MCC to just one hit in each of the innings. CCCC would then finally manage to break through in the bottom of the fifth with Adler Pierson reaching base after being hit by a pitch to flip the lineup over where a Noah Olson single and Jaden Parsons flyout would allow the freshman to move up 90 feet on each of the next two at-bats.
Freshman Kayden Beauregard would then rope a two-out single through the left side of the infield to score Pierson and move Olson to third as it would appear that the T-Birds might be able to get something going to try and get back into the game trailing 4-1. The lone run would be all that Cloud County could muster in the inning however as Tiger starter Edward de Los Santos Moreno would get out of the jam on the next at-bat as Ian Riley would fly out to right field to end the inning.
In the final two innings of the game, CCCC would manage to keep MCC hitless to keep the deficit at three and allow their offense a chance to continue mounting a comeback, but strikeouts would be a problem for the T-Birds as four of the final six outs of the game for Cloud County would come at the plate with strikeouts to end the game as Marshalltown would manage to bounce back from yesterday's sweep.
In addition to stranding eight base runners, CCCC batters would strike out nine times in the game after striking out just six times in each of the first two games of the series. Beauregard's fifth-inning RBI would come as his lone hit of the day while Williams Camacho-Soto would go two for three with a pair of singles.
On the mound, Hayes would take the loss to fall to 1-1 overall while Woods would throw four-innings in relief and strike out four while working around four hits. Both Patrick Kennedy and Javier Cruz would see one inning of work in the contest to keep the Tigers hitless in the final two frames and combined to strike out three MCC batters.
GAME TWO:
Cloud County would face a deficit once more after half an inning of play as two singles, an error, and a walk would allow for an unearned run to come home and put the Tigers up 1-0 early. The CCCC offense would then respond with a pair of runs of their own as three of the first four batters would safely reach base and allow for the T-Birds to hold a 2-1 lead going to the second.
Free passes once again would come back to hurt Cloud County in the second as the T-Birds would issue two walks to the first two batters of the inning as a two-out single from Bryan Morales would allow Marshalltown to tie things up a 2-2 which is where things would stay until the top of the fourth.
In the fourth, MCC would be able to plate two runs off CCCC reliever Rans Sanders as a one-out triple and sacrifice fly would bring in the two runs from the top of the Tiger lineup to give MCC a 4-2 lead. The lead would not last long however as the T-Bird offense would spark a two-out rally with five hits, one hit batter, and a walk to plate eight runs in the bottom of the fourth to reclaim the lead at 10-4.
Cloud County would then push across a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings while allowing Marshalltown just a single run in the top of the sixth to grab a 14-5 lead and sit just three outs away from a series victory. Marshalltown would not go quietly in the seventh as the Tigers would score three runs before finally seeing the T-Birds record the final out of the day to split the day's action.
Olson would bounce back from a down performance in game one by going three-for-four with four RBI and three extra-base hits while Garrett Redden would go two-for-four and drive in three while also scoring three times. Six of Cloud County's 12 hits in the game would go for extra-bases as CCCC would also draw six walks and see two hit batters add to the scoring opportunities.
Jarod Leroux would start the game for Cloud County and go three innings while throwing 72 total pitches and allowing two runs on four hits and striking out five. Earning his first collegiate victory would be Sanders after throwing two innings and allowing two runs on four hits. Both Jacob Shaw and Kennedy would toss one of the final two innings while combining to strike out three as each would face seven batters in their relief appearance.
What's Next?
Cloud County begins a four-game series with a road doubleheader at number nine nationally ranked Cowley Community College on Thursday, March 4th at 1 PM. Cowley is off to a 4-0 start this season after taking a road doubleheader from Hutchinson Community College on Saturday.
