Baseball | 4/24/2026 6:53:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Cloud County Community College baseball team collected a pair of road victories in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) play on Friday, April 24, sweeping a doubleheader over Barton Community College with 15-1 and 5-2 wins.

With the sweep, the T-Birds won three of four in its KJCCC series with the Cougars, improving to 43-5 overall and 24-4 in KJCCC play.

Cloud County scored eight runs in the top of the seventh inning to close the door on Barton in game one.

Sophomore Cohen Nelson got the mound start for the T-Birds. Nelson pitched six innings, giving up one earned run on three hits with one walk while striking out nine batters to improve his season record to 4-0.

Freshman Colby Arensdorf followed with one scoreless inning in relief where he did not allow a hit. Arensdorf walked one and struck out one.

The ball game started with a scoreless first inning before the T-Birds got on the board in the top of the second with a three-run home run by sophomore short stop Lucas Laukkanen, scoring freshmen outfielders Kellan Burke and Nolan Green.

Sophomore second baseman Joey Marino singled home Green in the top of the fourth inning to push the lead to 4-0.

Sophomore first baseman Luke Clayton added a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the fifth to make it 7-0.

Barton scored its only run of the game on a RBI single by redshirt freshman JJ Spafford in the bottom half of the fifth.

Neither team scored a run in the sixth, but the T-Birds boosted their lead to 15-1 with eight runs in the seventh. Cloud County loaded the bases with two outs and scored three runs on free bases awarded to Burke, redshirt freshman Simon Baker and freshman outfielder Brody Seidl. Sophomore third baseman Kaden Budke was hit-by-a-pitch, leading to another run scored, while a fielding error on the Cougars enabled an additional run to score. Laukkanen capped the inning with a double, plating Burke and Seidl to give the T-Birds the 15-1 advantage.

Laukkanen finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a home run and a double, a game-high five RBI and one run scored. Clayton added three hits with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. Burke had two hits with a triple and scored three runs. Seidl scored two times, while Marino collected two hits in the win.

Sophomore Cole Linton pitched his second complete game of the season and his fifth in his career as went the distance in Cloud County's 5-2 win in nine innings in game two. Linton threw 113 pitches - 74 for strikes - and held Barton to two earned runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Linton has improved to 7-0 on the season.

Cloud County scored two runs in the top of the first inning when Marino plated Seidl and Baker.

Barton answered with a run in the bottom half of the first on a RBI ground out by sophomore Carter Helm.

Both teams were kept off the scoreboard over the next four innings. The T-Birds stranded one runner each in the second, third and fourth frames.

The Cougars tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning when redshirt sophomore Kyler Horsman singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman Micah McGavran.

Cloud County climbed back in front in the top of the seventh. After loading the bases, Burke drew a walk to score sophomore catcher Vasya Seymour to make it 3-2.

The T-Birds added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning. Clayton led off the frame with a double. Laukkanen followed with a RBI double of his own, scoring Clayton. Laukkanen was driven in on a base-hit by Seymour.

Laukkanen went 3-for-4 in game two with a double, one run scored and one RBI. Laukkanen also added a stolen base. Marino drove in a pair of runs. Clayton finished with a double and a run scored.

The T-Birds return home on Tuesday, April 28 for their non-conference finale, hosting the Southeast Community College Bobcats for a single, nine-inning game. First pitch is set for 2 pm and the game will be streamed live on the T-Bird Sports Network.