Marshalltown, IA—Three days after sweeping No. 7 Iowa Western Community College in a pair of conference games, the Marshalltown Community College Baseball team fell flat against the Reivers, falling twice at home on Monday afternoon. The Tigers dropped game one 6-0 and were shutout in the nightcap, 7-0.
The Tigers took a pair of games from the Reivers on Friday afternoon at home, sweeping Iowa Western by scores of 7-4 and 4-1, but the offense came up quiet on Monday afternoon. MCC falls to 28-18 overall and 10-10 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play while Iowa Western improves to 39-12 on the year and 16-4 in conference. The Tigers sit one game ahead of Indian Hills Community College for second place in the league standings. The Falcons come to Marshalltown next weekend for a four-game conference series, the final ICCAC set of the season for both teams.
Sophomore Kolton Gonnerman (Centerville, IA/Centerville) kept the Tigers in the game in the opener as the right hander struck out five batters through the first two innings of play. The scoring chances were limited on both ends until the Reivers plated a run in the fourth for the initial lead. Iowa Western struck again in the fifth and added two more in the sixth to pull away.
Gonnerman finished the game with seven strikeouts and was dealt his first loss of the 2016 season despite allowing just one earned run. Logan Holtz (Urbana, IA/Center Point-Urbana) collected two of the Tigers' four hits in the opening defeat.
Game two saw Iowa Western plate four runs in the opening inning and never looked back. The Tigers were held hitless until a Hunter Embray (Knoxville, IA/Twin Cedars) single in the fifth inning. MCC finished the game with just two hits.
The Tigers head to Ellsworth Community College for a nonconference matchup at 7:00 PM Thursday night.
