Cloud County Sports Information
CONCORDIA - A day after being named first-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference West Division selections, Cloud County Community College baseball players Demitri Shakotko, Mason McConnaughey, and Cole Askew all added to their postseason awards list by being named second-team All-NJCAA Region VI Baseball selections.
The 24-player All-Region VI teams are comprised of first-team All-KJCCC West and All-KJCCC East selections, with 12 players making up first-team All-NJCAA Region VI and the remaining 12 making up second-team honorees. Among the 24 picks for All-Region VI honors are representatives from 12 different KJCCC institutions, with Cloud County having tied for the second-most All-Region VI selections (three) of all 12 schools with at least one player named All-Region VI behind only Seward County who had five players named All-Region VI.
Having a breakout freshman campaign, Shakotko would lead Cloud County in batting average by hitting .413 with 59 total hits and 22 of his hits going for extra-bases. Driving in 39 runs, Shakotko would finish the year with a .506 on-base percentage while hitting .480 in KJCCC play in addition to earning KJCCC West Division Player of the Week (May 2), and NJCAA Division I Baseball Player of the Week (May 3) honors after hitting .765 with eight RBI and four extra-base hits in a T-Bird series victory over Colby.
Finishing among the KJCCC leaders in strikeouts, McConnaughey would put together a strong season on the mound for CCCC by making 16 appearances with 13 starts and throwing a team-high 68.1 innings. The Topeka, Kansas native would Cloud County in pitching victories (8) and strikeouts (93) while going 8-4 overall with five of his pitching decisions coming in conference play. McConnaughey would record a season-high 10 strikeouts in three different contests, while also throwing a complete-game shutout against Garden City while limiting the Broncbusters to just two hits.
A shutdown reliever out of the bullpen, Askew would lead Cloud County in appearances (23) and earned run average (2.97) after throwing 33.1 innings and striking out 43 batters. Converting six save opportunities to finish fourth among all KJCCC players in saves, Askew would limit opponents to a .190 batting average against and lower his ERA in conference play to 1.69. For his career, Askew would make 37 total apppearances on the mound finishing just one shy of tying the career record at CCCC which was set by David Johns (2016-17).