Cloud County Blasts Six Homers to Down Labette 15-9 in Game One of NJCAA Region 6 Plains District Tournament

The Cloud County Community College baseball team erupted for six home runs on Wednesday, May 7, while sophomore third baseman Nolan Freund became the program's career hit leader, as the T-Birds earned a 15-6 nine inning victory over Labette Community College in the first game in the best-of-three series in the opening round of the 2025 NJCAA Region 6 Plains District Baseball Tournament.

A native of Kingman, Kansas, Freund also tied former T-Bird Demitri Shakotko for the program's single-season hits record after going 3-for-5 at the plate. Freund is only the second player in Cloud County history to have 90+ hits in a single season. Freund, who has signed to play next year for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans, ranks first in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference with 94 total hits with a .465 batting average.

The T-Birds scored 12 of their 15 runs off home runs. Nine of Cloud County's 12 hits went for extra bases. Seven players contributed hits, while five different players registered home runs.

The six round-trippers for Cloud County mark the team's most since April 26, 2024, when they also drilled six home runs in a 25-4 road win over Garden City Community College.

Freshman second baseman Joey Marino became the fourth T-Bird this season to record a multi-home run game. After Freund collected a two-out single to right field in the bottom of the first inning, Marino drilled a two-run home run to left to put Cloud County up 2-0.

After play was interrupted by rain in the middle of the second inning, and the game was delayed by 154 minutes due to inclement weather, freshman shortstop Lucas Laukkanen added a two-run shot of his own in the bottom of the second.

The Cloud County offense continued to explode in the third, scoring five runs on home runs by Marino and sophomore Austin Coyle to push Cloud County's lead to 9-1.

The Labette Cardinals staged a furious five-run fifth inning rally, highlighted by a two-RBI double to center field by sophomore Tray Freeman and a two-run home run to left field by sophomore Wiljerry Santiago-Torres, trimming the T-Birds' lead to 9-6.

Freshman right-hander Adam Hilsheimer pitched in relief for Labette, retiring the first 12 batters he faced and sitting Cloud County down in order in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

Hilsheimer retired the first two batters he faced in the seventh before Freund crushed a solo home run to center field to push Cloud County's lead to 10-6.

The T-Birds then tallied their second five-run inning of the ballgame in the bottom of the eighth. Sophomore Noah Konings led off the inning with a triple to right field. Freshman Kaden Budke followed with a two-run blast to left for his second homer of the season. After Coyle and Laukkanen were hit by pitches, sophomore Gannon White reached on an infield throwing error that scored Coyle. Marino later added a two-out double to left-center field, bringing home Laukkanen and White, to give the T-Birds the 15-6 victory.

Marino finished the game 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double, two runs scored, and six RBI. Coyle had three RBI, while Budke and Laukkanen had two RBI each.

Freshman Cole Linton improved to 7-1 on the season after throwing five innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits with no walks while striking out five. Sophomore Noah Bourgeois earned his first save of the season, allowing no runs on two hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

With the win, Cloud County has improved to 43-14 - the second-most wins of any team in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference - and secured its first victory in the best-of-three series against Labette (15-32). It marks only the second time in the last four years the T-Birds have won game one of their first-round NJCAA Region 6 Plains District Baseball Tournament series.

Game two is Thursday, May 8, when Cloud County will try to sweep the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 pm at Lee Doyen Field in Concordia. The game will be streamed free of charge on the T-Bird Sports Network. Fans can also listen to the game on 1390 KNCK and 98.3 FM, with Austin McNorton and TJ Segebart calling the action.