By Trey Lopez and Foster Conner
Sports Reporter/Page Editor
The Amarillo College Badger Baseball team faced the Johnson County Community College Cavaliers in their 2025 season opener.
The teams battled it out at Hodgetown in back-to-back doubleheaders at noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, and again on Sunday, Feb. 2. AC’s new president, Dr. Jamelle Conner, threw the first pitch of the season. The Badgers split their opening-day doubleheader on Saturday. They lost the first game against the Cavaliers, 9-3, but had a 21-11 victory in the second game. However, Johnson County swept the Badgers in Sunday’s doubleheader, losing 18-5 in the first game and 14-4 in the second.
During Media Day on Thursday, Jan. 31, Head Coach, Brandon Raines said he was ready to start the season off right. “It is important this weekend to get off to a hot start and make sure we are throwing strikes. The main goal is to win conference championships, and ultimately be number one,” he said.
Raines said the team has spent months working on the fundamentals and training. “These guys play summer ball to actively be ready for the season. It is exciting to see these guys back as their game has elevated in year two. But we have a lot of young players that are really talented.”
Some Badger Baseball players said they would like to continue playing baseball after they graduate from AC. “Coach gave me a chance as a freshman coming in,” Jamarcus Smith, a business administration major, said. “My goal is to go D1, or even get picked up by the Sod Poodles.”
AC Badgers will be playing again this Friday, Feb. 7 and on Saturday, Feb. 8 against the Blinn County Buccaneers from Brenham, Texas.
The team is set to play 16 home games at Hodgetown this season. Single-game tickets are on sale now. AC students, faculty and staff get in free with their school ID. Adult tickets are $10 and children 12 and under are $7.
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