Baseball | 3/21/2026 8:08:00 PM

The Cloud County Community College baseball team swept Colby Community College in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 21 to earn their third consecutive Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) series victory this season.

The T-Birds (26-2, 11-1 KJCCC) won 17-11 in seven innings in game one, and 19-3 in seven innings in game two to complete the four-game series sweep.

Cloud County bashed 15 hits in its 17-11 game one win.

Sophomore third baseman Kaden Budke got the offense going with a lead-off home run in the top of the first inning.

Sophomore second baseman Joey Marino added a two-out, two-run homer in the second, scoring sophomore first baseman Luke Clayton, to make it 3-0.

The T-Birds then scored five times in the third. Marino, sophomore short stop Lucas Laukkanen, and redshirt freshman outfielder Evan Gunn each recorded RBI singles in the third frame to extend the lead to 8-0.

Cloud County pushed across three more runs in the fourth, before Colby scored six times in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by a grand slam from sophomore Matt Murray to make it 11-6.

T-Bird sophomore catcher Vasya Seymour led off the top of the fifth with a solo home run. Redshirt freshman designated hitter Simon Baker added a two-run home run that same inning to give Cloud County a 14-6 advantage.

Marino then doubled home Laukkanen in the top of the sixth, extending the lead to 15-6.

The T-Birds finished their scoring in the top of the seventh when Gunn doubled home freshman outfielder Kellan Burke, while Marino scored Gunn on an RBI base hit.

The Trojans made another push, scoring five times in the seventh stanza, including a grand slam by redshirt sophomore Nolan Adamski, to close the gap to 17-11.

Marino led the way with four hits, including a home run and a double, five RBI and one run scored. Gunn, Laukkanen and Seidl each had two hits in the contest, while Seidl and Budke scored three times apiece. All nine starters recorded at least one hit.

Sophomore Cole Linton started on the mound where he allowed five earned runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Freshman Nolan Green pitched a third of an inning, allowing five earned runs on five hits with two walks and one strikeout. Freshman Jett Wahlmeier also made an appearance for the T-Birds, not allowing any hits or runs while striking out two.

Cloud County posted another impressive offensive performance in game two, earning a 19-3 win. The T-Birds used 18 hits, including eight extra-base hits and four home runs, to finish with 19 runs. Cloud County had three innings with at least five runs in each of those frames, putting the game out of reach early.

Burke led the charge, hitting for the cycle and driving in five runs. Burke collected an RBI double in a two-run first inning. Burke recorded an RBI triple in a five-run third inning. Burke added a single in the sixth, before delivering a three-run home run in a five-run seventh inning for his ninth homer of the season.

Marino also homered for the second time in the doubleheader, finishing game two 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Laukkanen added three RBI and three runs scored with a pair of hits. Budke tallied two hits as well. Seymour scored three runs, while Seidl scored twice.

In his first game back from injury, sophomore Cohen Nelson tossed two scoreless frames with one hit and six punchouts. Freshman Jackson Fox followed with three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out three. Freshman Bradley Janes and sophomore Sam Brummund combined to pitch the sixth, while sophomore Hayden Malaise worked a scoreless seventh with a pair of strikeouts.

The T-Birds will continue KJCCC play on Thursday, March 26 with a road doubleheader at Dodge City Community College. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm from Cavalier Field.