Saints gain split at Cloud with 7-6 win, 17-9 loss

CONCORDIA, Kan. – The Seward County Community College baseball team opened its four-game series with a doubleheader split at Cloud County Community College, winning the opener, 7-6, and dropping the nightcap, 17-9, on Thursday.

The Saints are 2-8 in the Jayhawk West and 15-18 overall. Seward wraps up its series with Cloud on Saturday with games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Brent Gould Field.

GAME ONE

Hayden Ramage hit a two-run homer and Brooks Barber continued his hot-hitting with a 3-for-4 effort to power the Saints to a win in game one.

Seward jumped out to a big lead, opening with a five-run outburst in the second inning. After Ryan Todd's lead-off single, Ramage homered to left to give the Saints a 2-0 advantage. Colton Rowan added a sacrifice fly and Barber capped the scoring with a two-run double.

Cloud plated runs in the fourth and fifth innings and Seward had runs fourth and sixth innings to hold 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. The Thunderbirds made it interesting with four runs in the inning, but reliever John Langehennig got the final two outs to preserve the victory.

Seward starter Braden Whipple pitched well allowing only two runs through the first six innings before stumbling a little bit in the seventh. Whipple picked up the win, giving up five runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out over 6 1/3 innings.

GAME TWO

It was a slugfest in the nightcap with Seward starting off fast, but running out steam in the end.

The Saints opened the game with four runs on a three-run double by Hayden Ramage and Kotaro Wakui's RBI double. Cloud came back with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and after another Seward run, the Thunderbirds knotted the game at 5-5 with three runs in the third.

The Saints scored four runs in the top of the fourth highlighted by a Wakui three-run homer. An error accounted for the other run and Seward held a 9-5 lead.

Unfortunately, the bats went silent for the Saints and Cloud continued to feast on Seward pitching. The Thunderbirds scored 12 unanswered runs with fourth in the fourth inning, two in the sixth, two in the seventh and fourth in the eighth for the final score.

Wakui and Ramage each drove in four runs and Nathan Hopkins went 3-for-6 with two runs scored.

Aldo Ostos took the loss in relief, gave up eight runs on nine hits, struck out three and walked two over four innings.