Muscatine, IA—With a pair of Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) wins on Saturday night against Muscatine Community College, the Marshalltown Community College Baseball team is off to its best start in school history. The Tigers took game one 7-5 before cruising to a 10-2 victory in the nightcap.
MCC improves to 17-7 overall after winning the first two conference games of the season over the Cardinals. The Tigers' previous best start was a 13-8 record in the 2005 season. MCC has now won seven games in a row which is the team's longest winning streak since the 2011 team won eight games in a row from April 7-17.
Hunter Embray's (Knoxville, IA/Twin Cedars) seventh inning double in game one drove in two runs which proved to be the game-winner for the Tigers. Kolton Gonnerman (Centerville, IA/Centerville) went the distance for the Tigers to improve to 4-0 on the year. Gonnerman's seven career-wins ranks second all-time at MCC.
The Tigers scored in five separate innings in game two to give MCC its 11th game of double-digit runs this season, including five of the last seven contests. Enmanuel Lopez (Santiago, Dominican Republica/Prepara) went 3-3 with a home run and four RBI. Elijah Wood (Washington, IA/Washington Community) limited the Cardinals to earn his second-straight win on the mound.
After postponing the start of Saturday's matchup from a 1:00 PM start to a 5:00 PM first pitch due to howling winds, the Tigers fell behind early in game one after Muscatine scored four runs off of Gonnerman in the first inning. The Tigers responded with three runs in the second after three bases-loaded walks and added a fourth run in the third as Luis Duran (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Centro de Estudio Espaillat) scored on a double-steal.
Both sides traded runs in the sixth as Tony Salato (Knoxville, IA/Knoxville) scored Bryan Ventura (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Continental) on a single. Tied at five in the top of the seventh, Embray delivered the deciding hit with a shot to deep centerfield, scoring Duran and Logan Holtz (Urbana, IA/Center Point-Urbana). Gonnerman struck out two of his six batters in the final frame for his second-career complete game.
Duran finished the game 3-3 with three runs scored while Holtz added a pair of hits and a pair of runs in the win. After the first inning, Gonnerman controlled the Cardinals, allowing just one run the rest of the way. The sophomore allowed just two earned runs on the night.
In game two, Muscatine struck first with a run in the first inning, but the Tigers gave Wood plenty of run support the rest of the way to put the game out of reach. Diogen Ceballos (La Vega, Dominican Repbulic/Liceo la Romana) scored in the second and Lopez put MCC on top with a run in the third. A two-run single from Lopez in the fourth highlighted a four-run fame for the Tigers. The freshman added a two-run home run to deep left field in the sixth before MCC added a pair of runs in the seventh to complete the sweep.
Lopez went 3-3 in the nightcap while Holtz added another pair of hits. Lopez upped his ICCAC-leading average to .513 after his four-hit performance on the night. Wood struck out six batters in six innings while JJ Stephens (Sioux City, IA/Sioux City East) tossed a perfect seventh inning for the Tigers, striking out two batters in the frame.
The two teams resume play with a doubleheader at Tom Bruner Field on Sunday. First pitch is set for 12:00 PM.
