T-Birds cruise to series sweep of Broncbusters

GARDEN CITY — Freshman infielder Jakob Poturnak turned in a record-setting performance in helping the Cloud County Community College baseball team cruise to a pair of Jayhawk Conference West Division road wins over Garden City Community College last Friday.

Poturnak had four hits in six at bats, including two home runs, and drove in a school record eight runs as Cloud County overwhelmed Garden City 25-4 in seven innings in the second game of a doubleheader.

The old school mark of seven runs batted in was shared by five players.

Cloud County downed Garden City 11-1 in the opening game of the twinbill.

Winning the first two games of the conference series 10-0 and 13-3 back on April 24 at the Concordia Sports 

Complex, the T-Birds outscored the Broncbusters 59-7 in the four games.

Cloud County, 36-16 overall and 20-8 and in second place in the West Division, will finish up the regular season with a four-game series with Butler Community College.

The T-Birds play the first two games at El Dorado on May 2 and then host the Grizzlies on Saturday.

Paul Schuyler hit two home runs and drove in four runs as Cloud County put up nine runs in the top of the first inning in game two on Friday.

Poturnak had a two-run double in the inning.

Cloud County made it a 16-0 game with seven runs in the second inning.

Nolan Freund hit a two-run home run in the inning and Austin Coyle had a solo shot.

TJ Coats had a two-run triple and Poturnak doubled home two runs.

Garden City scored three runs in the bottom of the second.

The T-Birds added one run in the third inning, two in the fourth, three in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh.

Poturnak hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and a three-run shot in the fifth.

Cloud County used four pitchers in the game.

Zach Sharshel  pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. He did not allow a hit and struck out three.

The T-Birds banged out 19 hits.

Schuyler was 2-for-2 with four runs batted in.

Freund knocked in four runs.

Coyle was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in.

Coats had two hits and drove in two runs.

Gavin Roy and Demitri Shakotko had two hits each.

Jack Macintosh and Wil Yamka combined on a four-hitter in Cloud County’s win in game one.

Macintosh went five innings to get the win and gave up one run on three hits, struck out three and walked three.

Yamka struck out three and walked one in one inning.

Cloud County broke a scoreless tie with seven runs in the top of the second inning.

Freund hit a three-run home run and Shakotko had a two-run shot.

Three runs in the third inning gave the T-Birds a 10-0 cushion.

Garden City scored its lone run in the fourth inning.

Scoring a run in the seventh inning, Cloud County led 11-1.

Kevin Mannell and Caden Walker combined on a two-hitter in Cloud County’s 10-0 win over Garden City in the opening game of the series.

Mannell gave up one hit and struck out five in five innings.

Walker worked one scoreless inning and allowed one hit and struck out one.

Cloud County scored one run in the first inning, three in the second, one in the third, three in the fourth and one in the sixth.

Shakotko had three hits, drove in two runs and scored three.

Noah Konings was 2-for-4 with two runs batted in.

Landon Meyer had two hits in three at bats.

Schuyler and Roy drove in two runs each.

Cloud County led 1-0 through two and a half innings in the second game.

The T-Birds put up four runs in the bottom of the third, four in the fourth and two in the fifth to make it 11-0.

Garden City scored one run in the sixth inning and two in the top of the seventh to make it 11-3.

Poturnak tripled home Shakotko and scored on a single by Kolby Girrens in the bottom of the seventh to end the game because of the 10-run rule.

Coats, the first of four Cloud County pitchers used, got the win by pitching five shutout innings. He gave up two hits and struck out nine.

Poturnak had three hits in five at bats, drove in three runs and scored three.

Konings was 3-for-4 with two runs batted in.

Shakotko had three hits, knocked in two runs and scored three.

Roy and Meyer had two hits each.