EDMOND, Okla. – Playing for the first time in nearly two weeks, the Cloud County Community College baseball team would earn a 10-3 win over Labette before dropping an 8-1 decision to number-six ranked Crowder College to split a pair of games at the University of Central Oklahoma JUCO Festival in Edmond, Okla., on Sunday.
Cloud County is now 2-3 overall on the year while the Cardinals fell to 0-3 on the year and the Roughriders improved to 3-0.
Against Labette
Jumping on the Cardinals from the start, CCCC would waste no time getting on the board as a Noah Olson leadoff walk and Jaden Parsons sacrifice bunt would set the table for freshman Kayden Beauregard to launch a two-run home run on a 2-2 count to get Cloud County on the board. Garrett Redden would then draw the second walk of the inning before stealing second as Trevor Stevens would find a hole with a two-out single as the T-Birds would lead 3-0 after half an inning of play.
Two strikeouts and a flyout would allow Cloud County to get back on the offensive as the T-Birds would go on to score two runs in the top of the second with three straight hits to lead off the inning and would go on to put up three more runs in the fourth as Beauregard would connect on a solo homer for his second bomb of the day to highlight the inning.
The run support through the first four innings would be more than enough for freshman Kolby Dougan on the mound as the Topeka, Kansas native would dominate through the first four innings of action by striking out the side in both the bottom of the second and third while adding two more strikeouts to his tally in the bottom of the fourth. CCCC would go on to tack on runs in both the fifth and seventh innings as Labette would eventually manage to get on the board with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to keep Cloud County from their first shutout of the year.
Beauregard's two home runs would come as part of a three-for-four performance at the plate with four a game-high four RBI as the T-Birds would blast out 15 hits in the game. Five different players for CCCC would collect at least two hits in the contest, with both Brock Hillebert and Williams Camacho-Soto going two-for-three.
Dougan's day would officially come to an end after five innings of work and 75 total pitches with 13 strikeouts against 16 batters faced. The lone blemish on the day for Dougan would come with a one-out walk in the bottom of the fifth as the freshman would earn his first win of the year. Freshmen Jorge Galindo (0.2 innings) and Conner Woods (1.1 innings) would manage to finish out the final two innings with Woods striking out two and Gallindo striking out one as the pitching staff finished with 16 total strikeouts in the seven-inning contest.
Against Crowder
After allowing the Roughriders to get on the board with a run in the top of the first, Cloud County would see Crowder put up a crooked number in the top of the second by taking advantage of four hits and three walks to plate six runs and grab a 7-0 lead after two innings of play. Neither team would be able to take advantage of a base runner in the third, but the Roughriders would manage to push across another run in the fourth to add to their lead.
CCCC's lone run in the contest would come in the bottom of the sixth as Olson would draw a leadoff walk and advance to third on a Beauregard single before coming around to score on a two-out Ian Riley RBI single.
Cloud County would be limited to just six hits in the contest while committing the lone error of the game as Olson would lead the T-Birds with a hit in each of his two at-bats. Carl Aikman would take the loss on the mound, going two innings and allowing seven runs on five hits while striking out three. Also seeing action at pitcher in the nightcap would be Evan Wilde and Jarod Leroux (two innings each) along with Aaron Hayes who threw the final inning of work.
What's next?
As things currently stand, Cloud County will next be in action on Saturday for their 2021 home opener against Marshalltown Community College with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Lee Doyen Field. If next week's CCCC baseball schedule were to see changes, they will be announced as they happen on www.cloudtbirds.com. Fans can also get schedule updates regarding all Cloud County athletic teams by following @CCCCSports on Twitter and liking Cloud County Athletics on Facebook.
--cloudtbirds.com--