CONCORDIA, Kan. – A three-day stretch featuring five games for the Cloud County Community College baseball team concluded at Lee Doyen Field in Concordia, Kansas on Tuesday afternoon as the T-Birds would drop a 10-6 decision to 10th-ranked Iowa Western Community College in non-conference action.
The defeat sends Cloud County to 16-6 overall while the Reivers have now won nine straight dating back to February 28th to improve to 12-4 overall on the year.
With both teams coming off weekend series that extended into Monday afternoon, it would be IWCC who would strike first in the top of the second as a leadoff double and wild pitch on a swing-and-miss strike three would put two runners on with no outs for the Reivers. Iowa Western would then get a base-hit single to load the bases before back-to-back strikeouts would nearly allow Cloud County to get out of the bases-loaded jam. A passed ball however would turn into an unearned run for IWCC as a seven-pitch at-bat would lead to an inning-ending strikeout.
CCCC would be retired in order in the bottom of the second before working around a one-out walk in the top of the third to keep things at a 1-0 deficit until nine-hole hitter
Adler Pierson would connect on a one-out single followed by an
Ian Riley hit-by-pitch to put two runners on base. After a groundout that moved both runners into scoring position,
Tom Poole would clear the bases with a three-run home run that would put the T-Birds out in front of the Reivers with a two-run cushion heading to the fourth.
A walk, wild pitch, and RBI single from IWCC in the fourth would allow Iowa Western to get one run back to cut the lead in half, but it would very quickly be pushed back out to a two-run lead as a leadoff single from
Kolden Howerton,
Williams Camacho-Soto fielder's choice, and
Alexander Diaz single put two runners on with one out. Taking advantage of a throwing error by the Reivers, Camacho-Soto would come around to score before a pitching change would lead to a strikeout and pop out to end the inning.
Iowa Western would break through in the top of the fourth, putting together a two-out rally that would see the bases loaded on a walk before a two-RBI single tied the game at 4-4. An error in the next at-bat would allow a third run to score in the inning to give the Reivers the lead once again as the run would be of the unearned variety with a groundout ending the inning one batter later.
CCCC would not trail very long as a hit batter and walk would put the go-ahead run on base before another walk would load the bases to force IWCC to turn to their bullpen once more. After a strikeout put two outs on the board, the inning would be extended on a dropped third strike with a throwing error by the Reivers trying to complete the out at first allowing both
Garrett Redden and
Joel Benes to come around and score. Iowa Western would manage to escape without any more damage despite giving up the lead to Cloud County to trail 6-5 heading to the sixth.
One final lead change would occur in the top of the sixth as three hits and a throwing error would lead to another crooked number for IWCC with the Reivers putting up three runs for the second consecutive inning. The three-run sixth would allow Iowa Western to move back out in front by a score of 8-6 before putting up an additional two runs in the top of the seventh while allowing just two walks and a runner to reach via error in the final four innings of action on the defensive side to close out the four-run victory.
CCCC's six runs would come on five hits and five Iowa Western errors as the T-Birds would commit three errors of their own while conceding 12 hits to the Reivers. Poole's three-run home run would be the only extra-base hit of the game for Cloud County with Redden, Howerton, Diaz, and Pierson all hitting base-hit singles. Seven different pitchers would see action on the mound, with starter
Brady Stuewe going a game-high three innings and allowing just one run on two hits while recording six strikeouts.
Cole Askew would take the loss after pitching for the second-straight day, throwing two innings and giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits.
What's Next
With rain in the forecast throughout the state of Kansas on Thursday, Cloud County and Pratt have elected to push back the series-opening doubleheader that was scheduled to be played in Pratt on Thursday, March 17th back a day to Friday, March 18th with game one of the four-game set scheduled to get underway at 1 PM. CCCC and PCC will then turn around and play a 1 PM doubleheader in Concordia on Saturday, March 19th to close out the second weekend of Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference action for both teams. Pratt is currently 13-9 overall and 1-3 in the KJCCC following a series loss to Barton to open KJCCC action last weekend.
