Preview: Badgers look to continue past success vs. Broncbusters
As conference play nears, the Amarillo College baseball team hopes to secure valuable momentum in the next two weeks before the WJCAC gauntlet gets underway.
AC (3-8) will host Garden City Community College (5-3), Feb. 20-21, for a four-game series at Hodgetown. The homestand is set to begin at noon on Friday.
Over the past three seasons, the Badgers defeated the Broncbusters 3-1 in four-game sets, including last year’s series in the Jayhawk State.
AC holds a 9-3 advantage over the program’s 12 meetings since the Badgers’ athletics reboot in 2022.
Thus far, game one pitchers Aiden White and Eli Heyen, freshmen standouts Jatniel McCloud and Rowin Donaldson, and the emergence of Carter Williams – a Texas Tech transfer – on the hill with his 94-99 MPH fastball have been consistent headline-worthy performers through 11 games.
White and Heyen have combined for two consecutive wins despite an offense that scored just five runs during those victories over No. 2 Blinn and Kansas City Kansas.
Heyen notched both wins on his resume, having recorded six strikeouts, two walks, and one earned run over the last two weeks. White has accounted for the most innings pitched on the roster through three weeks (14.1) and has a team-high strikeout total (17) compared to five walks.
Williams has impressed with his big-league fastball, which was on full display against the Blue Devils last Sunday. The Canyon Lake High School product earned his first victory in game three against KCKCC, a contest in which he recorded seven strikeouts and zero walks across six innings.
At the plate, AC has scored just over four runs per outing and recorded a .264 batting average in an 11-game span. While the numbers have been subpar compared to the past three seasons, there has been reason for optimism during the latter half of the spring campaign.
Freshman outfielder, McCloud, is on pace to set the program’s batting average record and vie for the all-time home run mark by season’s end. The Loiza, Puerto Rico native is hitting a .436 average and has five home runs in 39 at-bats.
Donaldson, a former multi-sport standout at Seminole High School, has the second-highest batting average (.323) on the team for players with at least three starts. The starting shortstop was elevated to the two-hole spot in the batting order during the last series.
Fellow Infielder Colton McClure – a Weatherford High School product – is the third starter with a batting average over .300. The second baseman hit his first homer of the season last Sunday and has the second-highest hit total (12) on the team.
The series will be streamed live on the Texas Panhandle Sports Network at tpsnsports.com