Storm Baseball out-slugs Cloud County

The SCC Storm baseball team returned home to out-slug Cloud County 13-9, on Wednesday, April 16, at Christensen Field. The team had been on the road since March 26, while amassing a 9-7 record.

Southeast erupted for five runs in the bottom of the third inning. However, the Thunderbirds were able to score eight runs in the top of the fourth to make it 8-5. Head Coach Dion Parks said the long inning may have had an effect on starter Nick Houston, who had pitched well in the first three innings.

“We have to handle that situation better than we did, obviously, as we move forward,” Parks said.

However, the Storm came back with another five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 10-8 lead. Parks wasn’t sure if the long inning, in turn, affected Cloud County’s pitching and fielding. But he liked SCC’s offensive resolve.

“We had some good at-bats and stuck with our approach at the plate,“ Parks said. “We didn’t panic when we got behind.”

Pitchers Colton Adams and Brock Collins combined to hold Cloud to just one run the rest of the way, while the offense tacked on three more insurance runs to seal the win.

Freshman Niko Saltare led the offense with three RBIs, coming on two triples.

“Niko has done a good job for us all year long,“ Parks said. “He really works hard, and it was great to see him have that triple in the seventh after a couple things went against him earlier in the game. He showed a lot of toughness tonight.”

Parks said the comeback win is typical of the character he has seen out of the team all season long.

“I think it says a lot about our players and their mental toughness,” Parks explained. “They keep playing no matter what, and that’s what you have to do in this game. We are proud of the effort we play with every single time out.”