Joplin, MO— For the second straight day the Marshalltown Community College baseball team split with Ellsworth Community College as the Tigers took game one 9-4 but fell 4-2 in the nightcap. Freshman Parker Rolfes (Le Mars, IA/Le Mars) and sophomore Daryl Blaskovich (Brentwood Bay, BC/Lambrick Park) combined for five hits, four runs, and two runs batted in in the opener.
The Tigers used a three-run first inning to jump out early on the Panthers as Blaskovich led off the game with a double. MCC added one more run in the fifth, two in the sixth, and three in the top of the seventh to extend their lead. Austin Battaglia (Waukee, IA/Waukee) picked up his first win of his MCC career after tossing 5.2 innings while striking out eight batters.
Blaskovich extended his hitting streak to eight games and finished the weekend 9-17 against the Panthers.
Patrick Rankin (Rice Lake, WI/Rice Lake) got the Tigers out of an early jam after relieving game two starter Danny Smith (Oyens, IA/Remsen Union). The Panthers eventually scored two runs on Rankin and added a pair in the fifth inning as well. The Tigers made things interesting with runs from Ryan Thrasher (Sherwood Park, AB/St. Francis Xavier) and Pedro Lopez (Naples, FL/Palmetto Ridge) in the top of the ninth inning but left a runner on third to give MCC its second straight sweep.
The Tigers return to action on March 29 at Iowa Western Community College.
