Baseball | 5/1/2025 7:54:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Cloud County Community College baseball team now has back-to-back 40 win seasons following a doubleheader sweep of Garden City Community College in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play on Thursday, May 1.

With two games still remaining in the regular season, the T-Birds have matched last year's overall win total with 40, cracking the 40 win plateau for the third time in the last four seasons. At 40-14 overall, Cloud County will have the chance to match the 2022 team with 42 wins when they close out the regular season on Saturday, May 3 in a doubleheader at Garden City. First pitch is scheduled for 2 pm from Williams Stadium.

The 1989 T-Birds hold the record for the most wins in a single season with 46.

This year's Cloud County squad has won six of its seven conference series, has clinched second place in the KJCCC West Division, and will host a first round Region 6 Plains District Tournament series next week. The team has also extended the program's current win streak to 14 straight victories against the Broncbusters, dating back to 2022.

Freshmen Lucas Laukkanen and Joey Marino both had RBI doubles and sophomore Noah Konings drove in a pair of runs to help the T-Birds earn an 11-3 win in seven innings in game one.

After falling behind 2-0, Marino led off the second inning with a single to center field. Konings followed with a base-hit to right. Sophomore Cam Macleod then was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Struggling with his control, Garden City redshirt freshman Jackson Ray also hit sophomore Eric Bradicich with a pitch to score Marino. After Laukkanen reached on a fielder's choice, Ray walked in another run while Laukkanen scored on a passed ball, giving the T-Birds a 4-2 advantage.

Marino drew a walk to lead off the third inning, before scoring on a two-out RBI double to left by Laukkanen, upping the lead to 5-2.

Garden City managed to get a run back in the top of the fourth on a run-scoring double by freshman Sean Togher. Togher drove in all three runs for the Broncbusters.

Ray exited the game in the bottom of the fourth after Cloud County once again loaded the bases to start the inning. Marino immediately attacked freshman right-hander Walker Maximick, driving a double to deep left-center field that scored sophomore Austin Coyle and redshirt freshman Matthew Evans. Konings followed with a single to center, bringing in Marino and sophomore Nolan Freund to push the T-Birds' lead to 9-3. Laukkanen capped the five-run fourth inning with an RBI ground out that scored Konings.

Coyle was hit by a pitch by freshman right-hander Bode McCormick to open the fifth inning. After stealing second, Coyle advanced to third on a passed ball before scoring the final run of the game on another passed ball.

Marino led the T-Birds at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI. Konings went 2-for-4 with a double, one run scored and two RBI. Laukkanen had a double, one run scored and two RBI. Macleod also had a double with one run scored. Coyle went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and two runs scored. Evans, Freund and sophomore Eric Bradicich scored one run each.

Three Cloud County pitchers combined to toss a shutout in game two, racking up eight strikeouts in a game that was never in doubt, guiding the T-Birds to a 13-0 win in seven innings.

Freshman Cole Linton improved to 6-1 on the year, allowing just two hits with four strikeouts in five innings of work. Freshman Cohen Nelson recorded two strikeouts while retiring the side in the sixth, while freshman Stocton Timbrook fanned two as he sat the Broncbusters down in order in the top of the seventh.

Cloud County had nine extra-base hits in the contest, pushing across three runs in the first inning, three more in the second, six runs in the fourth, and one more in the sixth.

Freshman catcher Vasya Seymour went 3-for-4 at the plate with three doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. Freund was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Bradicich was also 3-for-4 with a double, one run scored and one RBI. Evans finished 2-for-2 with a triple, a double, and three runs scored. Sophomore Gannon White also had a triple with a one run scored. Coyle was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, two runs scored and an RBI. Freshman Kaden Budke scored a run and drove in two more, while Laukkanen scored a run and added an RBI.