Baseball splits with Ellsworth for second straight day

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.

Baseball splits with Ellsworth for second straight day
March 15, 2014

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.