Baseball | 5/4/2025 3:10:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Sophomore Cam Macleod hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning, helping the Cloud County Community College baseball team close out the 2025 regular season with a Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference sweep over Garden City Community College on Saturday, May 3. The T-Birds rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to capture a 7-6 victory in nine innings in game two. Cloud County scored 10 runs on 10 hits to take the opening game of the day, 10-3 in seven innings.

The T-Birds finish the regular season with a 42-14 overall record and a 25-7 conference record. This marks two-consecutive 40-win seasons for Cloud County, and the third 40-win season in the last four years.

Cloud County trailed 6-5 entering the ninth inning. Sophomore Nolan Freund led off the inning with a flyout to right field before freshman Joey Marino reached on a one-out walk. Sophomore Eric Bradicich entered the contest to pinch run for Marino. Macleod, the team-leader in home runs this season, showed his power yet again, driving a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence for his 12th homer of the year to put the T-Birds ahead 7-6.

Freshman Stocton Timbrook earned the save, pitching the scoreless ninth, allowing no hits with one walk and one strikeout.

The T-Birds trailed 5-1 at the end of the first inning after the Broncbusters scored five runs on five hits, highlighted by a grand slam from freshman Karson Evans.

Cloud County began chipping away at Garden City's lead in the second inning when freshman Kaden Budke scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman Tony Crow.

Crow smacked a two-run home run of his own in the top of the fourth inning, driving in sophomore Austin Coyle, to cut the lead to 5-4.

A sacrifice fly by Freund scored Crow in the sixth to tie the game at 5-all.

Garden City retook the lead in the bottom half of the sixth inning when freshman Sean Togher scored on a passed ball.

Cloud County used seven pitchers in the win. Redshirt freshman Hayden Malaise improved his record to 1-1. Malaise pitched the final two-thirds of the eighth inning, allowing no hits and no runs with one strikeout.

Crow led the T-Birds at the plate with two hits, two runs scored and three RBI. Budke and redshirt freshman Matthew Evans also had two-hit games, while Freund and Macleod drove in two runs each.

Cloud County cruised in its first game of the afternoon, jumping out to a 4-1 lead through the first three innings. Freshman Joey Marino got the scoring started with an RBI double to center field, bringing home Evans in the top of the first inning. Freshman Lucas Laukkanen crushed a two-run home run in the top of the second inning, while a sacrifice fly by Freund scored Macleod in the third.

The T-Birds put the game out of reach with a four-run outburst in the top of the fifth inning. Sophomore Noah Konings perfectly executed an infield bunt single to score Freund. Marino added another run on a passed ball, while Konings and Macleod were both brought home on sacrifice fly outs by Bradicich and sophomore Easton Mould to push Cloud County's lead to 8-1.

Garden City managed to get a run back in the bottom half of the fifth, before the T-Birds tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Marino doubled to right-center field, scoring Freund from first base. Budke followed with a double to left field to drive in Marino for Cloud County's final run of the game.

Marino finished 3-for-4 with three doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. Freund scored three runs on two hits. Freund has 151 career hits, now two-hits shy of tying Demitri Shakotko for first place on the school's all-time career hits list.

Freshman Kai Rempel earned the win, improving to 4-0 on the season. Rempel allowed one unearned run on three hits with no walks and four strike outs in four innings pitched. Sophomores Myles Chamberlain and Aaron Boutz and redshirt freshman Ben Soke each pitched one inning in relief.

Following a second-place finish in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference West Division, the Cloud County baseball team will host a best-of-three series against Labette Community College in the opening round of the 2025 NJCAA Region 6 Plains District Tournament. Labette concluded the 2025 regular season with a 15-31 overall record including a 12-21 mark in KJCCC East Division action. The Cardinals are riding a current three-game winning streak after they took three of four games in a conference series against Highland Community College this past week.

This week's showdown will mark the first meeting between Cloud County and Labette since February 21, 2021 when the T-Birds handed the Cardinals a 10-3 loss during that year's University of Central Oklahoma JUCO Festival in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Game one of the best-of-three series is set for Wednesday, May 7 at 3 pm at Lee Doyen Field in Concordia. The second game will be played Thursday, May 8 at 2 pm. If necessary, game three would take place at 2 pm on Friday, May 9.

All three games of this week's best-of-three playoff series between Cloud County and Labette will be streamed free of charge on the T-Bird Sports Network. Fans can also listen to the games on 1390 KNCK and 98.3 FM, with Austin McNorton calling the action.