Sophomore Zyon Hamilton ended game two of the series in emphatic fashion via a two-run homer in the seventh inning. The Badgers won the contest 21-11 by way of the 10-run rule after five innings of play.
The starting second baseman and second-year Badger become the fifth player in program history to hit three home runs in a single series during AC’s opening weekend. Hamilton hit his third home run of the series in game four of the series final on Sunday.
Previous players to accomplish the feat at AC include Sydney Ward, Chris Benavidez, Grant Watkins, and JP Hinojosa.
Returning sophomore all-conference pitcher Bret Deegan earned his ninth win during Saturday’s finale. Deegan struck out three batters, walked two, and allowed five earned runs.
The victory moved Deegan atop AC’s all-time career wins list.
Despite losing the series 3-1, Amarillo College made history for the second consecutive season against Johnson County. A season ago, the Badgers claimed their first ranked win in team history when the Cavaliers entered the matchup ranked eighth.
Offensively, seven Badgers recorded a batting average over .300 while six AC batters hit home runs.
Hamilton led AC with three long balls. Brandon Dickinson, Payton Bush, Gerardo Prado, David De Hoyos, and Ellington Jefferson tallied one homer apiece.
The following is a summary of each game during the four-game series this past weekend.
Game 1
Johnson County 9, Amarillo College 3
Saturday’s season-opener began as a highly-anticipated pitching matchup between two future NCAA Division I pitchers – AC’s Logan Tibbett (Appalachian State commit) and JCCC’s Josiah Golden (Oklahoma State commit).
Tibbett flashed his D-I potential in the first pair of frames, sitting the top of the lineup down in order via a fly out, ground out, and strikeout during the first.
AC sent a statement early to the highly-touted recruit in Golden, but were unable to sustain offensively over the seven-inning contest. Brandon Dickinson hit a triple in his first at-bat in an AC uniform. Oklahoma commit Gerardo Prado followed with an RBI double.
Ground outs by De Hoyos and Diego Gonzalez moved Prado across home plate for a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
Tibbett followed with a spotless inning, adding two strikeouts and a fly out.
After a 1-2-3 inning for the Badgers in the bottom of the second, Johnson County plated four runs to take a 4-2 lead by way of a two-run homer and three singles.
The Cavaliers hit two additional home runs in the contest while the Badgers managed four hits after the first inning.
Game 2
Amarillo College 21 Johnson County 11
The Badgers tied their second-highest runs scored total in program history to conclude play on Saturday at Hodgetown.
AC hit four home runs, three doubles, and two triples during the run-rule win.
Zyon Hamilton put forth one of the top offensive performances since the reboot of athletics at AC in 2022. The Austin, Texas native had two homers, a double, and five RBIs while batting a .750 average.
Freshman outfielder Ellington Jefferson and returning all-conference infielder Payton added their first homers at Hodgetown. De Hoyos and Jaxson Lindsey hit triples. Dickinson and Gonzalez had doubles.
Redshirt freshman Brooks Carter tied for a team-high hit total (3) in his first start with AC. Johnson County led the game 3-2 after two innings.
The Badgers then plated five runs in the third and six runs in the fourth to secure a 13-5 advantage.
Game 3
Johnson County 18 Amarillo College 5
The Cavaliers took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning and maintained a lead no less than four runs the rest of the seven-inning contest.
Johnson County tallied two home runs, a double, and two singles during the opening frame. The visiting team outhit the Badgers 15-5 and committed two less errors (3-1) than AC.
De Hoyos and Prado hit their first home runs of 2025. De Hoyos – a returning all-conference infielder – moved his career homer total to 10 with the solo shot in the fourth inning.
Game 4
Johnson County 14 Amarillo College 4
Incarnate Word commit, Dickinson, tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first with his first homer at AC.
Johnson County hit a two-run home run in both the second and third frame to extend their advantage to 7-1.
A Christian McGuire RBI triple and a fielder’s choice on a Dickinson groundout swung the momentum in the Badgers favor for a half inning. Johnson County quickly responded with a four-run sixth and three-run seventh to end the contest via mercy rule.