Baseball | 5/14/2026 11:47:00 PM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College baseball team homered five times and sophomore starter Cohen Nelson struck out seven in a complete-game performance as the team downed Butler Community College by a final score of 12-2 in five innings in an elimination game Thursday, May 14 in the 2026 NJCAA Division I Plains District Tournament at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kansas.

The T-Birds, ranked No. 2 in the final regular season NJCAA Division I Baseball Rankings, now will face No. 1 Johnson County Community College at 1 pm Friday, May 15. After knocking off the Seward County Saints 11-3 on Wednesday, May 13, the Johnson County Cavaliers suffered just their third loss of the season on Thursday with an 11-5 defeat at the hands of Cowley College. The winner of Friday's game between Cloud County and Johnson County will need to play an additional game at 7 pm Friday to extend their season.

Nelson, who was named Thursday as the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) West Division Pitcher of the Year, picked up his seventh victory of the season with a strong five-inning outing. Nelson struck out seven while scattering four hits and two runs. Nelson now has a team-high 77 strikeouts in just 42.2 innings of work this season. He also holds a team-best 1.48 ERA.

Sophomore short stop Lucas Laukkanen homered twice and scored three times while driving in three runs for the T-Birds. Sophomore catcher Vasya Seymour finished 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Sophomore first baseman Luke Clayton collected two hits, including a three-run home run, while driving in a team-high four RBI. Sophomore outfielder Tanner Jacobson smacked a two-run home run in the fourth inning. Jacobson knocked in three runs and scored twice in the game. Freshman outfielder Kellan Burke drilled a two-run home run in the first inning. He also scored three times. Freshman designated hitter Nolan Green recorded two hits and scored once.

Cloud County has improved to 50-6, reaching 50 wins for the first time in program history.

The T-Birds' game against Johnson County is a rematch of last year's NJCAA Division I Plains District Tournament championship game. The Cavaliers beat the T-Birds 6-4 in nine innings in last year's tournament title game. The two teams have split their last six meetings. Cloud County last topped Johnson County 6-2 at home on March 2, 2024.