Baseball | 4/29/2025 10:55:00 AM

For the third consecutive week, the Cloud County Community College baseball team is ranked in the national top 25. The T-Birds are No. 23 in this week's NJCAA Division I Baseball Rankings presented by Netting Professionals.

Cloud County enters the final week of the regular season at 38-13 overall and 21-7 in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play. The T-Birds have won six of their seven conference series in 2025. The team is coming off a 13-7 series-clinching victory in nine innings over Colby Community College at Young Memorial Field on Monday, April 28. Cloud County scored six runs with two outs in the ninth inning. Freshman Lucas Laukkanen drew a bases loaded walk to score sophomore Eric Bradicich. Redshirt freshman Matthew Evans then launched a grand slam to right field for his sixth home run of the season, driving in sophomore Cam Macleod, sophomore Easton Mould and Laukkanen to put the T-Birds up 12-7. Sophomore Nolan Freund capped the six-run outburst with a solo home run, his eighth long ball of the season.

The game was first paused April 23 due to inclement weather with the T-Birds leading 3-1 at the end of the second inning. Cloud County won the first game of the series 5-1 on April 23 before splitting a doubleheader with the Trojans at home on April 26.

Cloud County has five games remaining in the regular season. The team's final non-conference game is slated for Tuesday, April 29 when Cloud County hosts Southeast Community College for a single, nine-inning game, beginning at 3 pm. The T-Birds previously beat the Bobcats 6-3 in nine innings on April 8. The contest will be livestreamed on the T-Bird Sports Network.

Cloud County will conclude the regular season in a four-game conference series against Garden City Community College. The first two games will be played at Lee Doyen Field in Concordia on Thursday, May 1, beginning at 2 pm. The final two games will be played on Saturday, May 3 at 2 pm at Williams Stadium in Garden City, Kansas.

The Broncbusters enter the series at 22-29 overall and 8-20 in KJCCC play. The T-Birds have won 12 straight in the series, dating back to 2022.