Thunderbirds drop pair to Trojans

EMPORIA — Leaving baserunners stranded in the final inning of each game, the 18th-ranked Cloud County Community College baseball team suffered a pair of 4-3 losses to Colby Community College in a Jayhawk Conference doubleheader played Monday at Emporia State University.
Trailing 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning in game one, the Thunderbirds had Alexander Diaz lead off with a single and pinch hitter Willie Ponce walk.
Adler Pierson popped out and Joel Benes lined into a doubleplay to end the game.
Cloud County was down 4-3 in the top of the ninth inning in the second game when Tom Poole and Tristan Tenorio each singled.
Colby got a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball to complete the sweep.
Cloud County falls to 16-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play with the two losses.
Colby, 11-4 overall, is now 3-1 in conference play.
The Trojans got out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the first game.
Cloud County tied the game with a pair of runs in the second inning.
Brock Wollin scored the first run on a throwing error on a ground ball by Williams Camacho-Soto.
Another throwing error on a ball hit by Ty Wevers allowed Camacho-Soto to score.
An inside-the-park, two-run home run by Cleary Simpson in the bottom of the fifth inning gave Colby a 4-2 advantage.
Garrett Redden pulled Cloud County within a run, 4-3, with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning.
The T-Birds then got their first two batters aboard in the seventh inning, but were unable to score.
Jack Mount pitched the first five innings for Cloud County and suffered the loss. He gave up four runs on six hits, struck out seven and didn't walk any.
Cole Askew worked one scoreless inning. He gave up one hit.
Diaz had two of Cloud County's five hits.
The T-Birds grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game two.
Tenorio, Redden and Benes walked to load the bases.
Kolden Howerton drove in two runs with a double.
Shut out over the first four innings, the Trojans scored one run in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 2-1.
Cloud County upped the lead to 3-1 when Poole scored a run in the top of the seventh inning.
Colby tied the game at 3-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh.
A throwing error in the bottom of the eighth inning allowed the Trojans to score the go-ahead run.
Cloud County was again unable to come up with the tying run in the top of the final inning.
Haden Dow pitched the first five innings for the T-Birds. He gave up one run on three hits, struck out 10 and walked two.
Rans Sanders surrendered two runs on three hits, struck out four and walked two in two innings.
Jacob Shaw allowed one unearned run in one inning, struck out one and walked one in taking the loss.
Tenorio had two hits in the game and Howerton drove in two runs.