Directions to MCC Weekend Forecast
The Marshalltown Community College baseball team is set to open the 2015 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) portion of their schedule this weekend with a four-game set against Muscatine Community College at Shawn Williams Field.
The Tigers and Cardinals open up play with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon with first pitch slated for 1:00 PM. Sunday will pair the two teams for a doubleheader scheduled for a 12:00 PM start.
After dropping eight of the team's first 11 games of the season, the Tigers have won three of their last four. MCC has been off since March 22 due to a postponement of Wednesday's game against Southwestern Community College.
The Cardinals have been on the opposite end of the spectrum as MCC. After winning its first eight games of the season, Muscatine made the trek to Auburndale, FL where the Cardinals dropped four of their final five games in the Sunshine State and now sit at 9-4 on the year.
Over the last four seasons, the Tigers have found success against the Cardinals, winning 28 of the teams' last 30 meetings. MCC won seven of eight against Muscatine in 2014, outscoring the Cardinals 67-35.
Freshman pitcher Joel Lopez (Dorado, PR/Jose S. Alegria) is coming off of two consecutive solid pitching performances that earned him the ICCAC Division I Pitcher of the Week award. Lopez lowered his season earned run average to 1.96, which ranks second in the ICCAC.
Offensively, the Tigers have been paced by Bennett Lopez (Dorado, PR/PRBA), who is batting .339 with 19 hits and 14 RBI, both team-highs. Anderson Villarroel (Caracas, Venezuela/U.E. Santisima Caridad) has reached base in 11 consecutive games and batted .324 last week with 12 runs scored.
The Cardinals have been led by Brian Morales, whose .511 batting average ranks fifth among all NJCAA Division I players. Jay Peters leads the ICCAC with 27 strikeouts and a 1.35 earned run average for Muscatine
Tickets for all doubleheaders are $6.00 for adults, $3.00 for non-MCC students, and children 12 and under receive free admission. MCC students, faculty, and staff receive free admission as well.
Season tickets for MCC baseball games are $30.00 and can be purchased online at http://www.mccathletics.com/fanzone/tickets, or can be purchased at the gate.
Live statistics of all four games will be provided.
