McCloud joins elite company in Badger baseball debut, AC hits above .300 clip in 0-4 defeat to No. 12 Johnson County

Leading up to the team's season opener this past Sunday and Monday versus Johnson County Community College, only four players in team history had hit at least three home runs in a single series.

Make it five now as freshman outfielder Jatniel McCloud joined the exclusive list with his performance against the 12th-ranked team in the country at the NJCAA D-I level.
The Loiza, Puerto Rico native hit three home runs in his first series in an Amarillo College uniform and recorded a team-high .467 batting average.

McCloud's electric start to his Badger tenure highlighted a successful offensive performance by AC during opening weekend.

The Badgers hit a .322 average as a team across four games, which included 10 doubles and six home runs.

Redshirt sophomore catcher Brooks Carter (.444 average), freshman shortstop Rowin Donaldson (.429), redshirt sophomore first baseman Luis Gonzalez (.417), and freshman catcher Jake Scheiden (.400) paced AC in the batting average column, along with McCloud.

But AC's offensive success was not enough to overcome the red-hot Cavaliers. The powerhouse program from Overland Park, Kansas, which has qualified for the NJCAA D-I World Series the last three seasons, scored in the double digits throughout the series for a convincing sweep of AC.

Amarillo College freshman Carter Williams – a semester transfer from Texas Tech – hit a go-ahead grand slam during game one in the fifth frame, giving AC a brief 5-4 advantage.

JCCC plated four runs in the following frame and never looked back en route to a 10-8 victory.

A similar tale ensued in game two as AC rallied from a 5-1 deficit by scoring five runs in the third inning and two runs in the fourth to take an 8-6 lead.

After a lengthy delay due to an umpire injury in the top of the sixth inning, Johnson County plated seven runs and cruised to a 20-9 run-rule victory in eight innings.

The Cavaliers' pitching staff tossed a no-hitter during a five-inning game three route (11-0) to secure a series win.

AC fell behind 4-0 in the top half of the first inning to start game four – a trend that was consistent throughout the series.

JCCC built its lead to 8-1 in the third frame before McCloud and Scheiden ignited an AC offensive outburst with back-to-back solo home runs.

The Badgers pulled within three runs (9-6) via a Colton McClure RBI single in the fifth frame before the Cavaliers added a pair of runs during the sixth inning.

AC will take a 0-4 record into next week's road matchup at No. 2 Blinn College.

Series Results

Game 1 – JCCC 10 AC 8

Game 2 – JCCC 20 AC 9

Game 3 – JCCC 11 AC 0

Game 4 – JCCC 11 AC 7