Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College Baseball team tied a program record for wins and clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region XI Tournament with a doubleheader sweep of Indian Hills Community College on Sunday. The Tigers won both games on Sophomore Day by scores of 1-0 and 3-1.
The Tigers, who are receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division I Poll, finished the regular season with a 31-20 overall record, tied with the 2005 team that finished the year 31-16. MCC also finished the regular season with a 12-12 record in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play, tied for the team's most conference wins in a season.
The Tigers entered the final day of conference play just one game behind Indian Hills for second place in the league standings. With the two wins, MCC took sole possession of the No. 2 seed in next weekend's Region XI Tournament, the highest seed the Tigers have ever had in the postseason tournament.
Sunday's doubleheader was preceded by the recognition of the 16 members of the MCC sophomore class for their contributions to the program. In front of family and friends, the sophomore class returned the favor by displaying some of their best efforts on the field.
Sophomore Kolton Gonnerman (Centerville, IA/Centerville) was the highlight of game one as the right handed pitcher kept the Falcons hitless for 5.1 innings and finished with just one hit allowed. Gonnerman only needed one run to get the Tigers the game one win, and freshman Luis Duran (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Centro de Estudio Espaillat) provided that with a sacrifice fly in the fourth to score Diogen Ceballos (La Vega, Dominican Republic/Liceo la Romana) after a leadoff double.
Gonnerman tossed six innings for the Tigers and struck out four batters to keep the 1-0 lead intact. Fellow sophomore JD Barr (South Sioux City, NE/Bishop Heelan Catholic) took the mound in the seventh and provided a 1-2-3 inning to earn the save, giving the Tigers their third 1-0 win over the Falcons this season.
Gonnerman improved to 7-1 on the mound this year and earned his 10th career win for the Tigers.
Head coach Rich Grife put the ball in another sophomore's hand in game two as the Tigers looked to tie the program record for wins. Elijah Wood got the call for the Tigers, his 19th career start. Wood limited the opposition early and controlled any damage the Falcons provided.
Wood has started nine games for the Tigers during his career in which MCC has scored two runs or less for the southpaw. Sophomore Logan Holtz (Urbana, IA/Center Point-Urbana) made sure to give his fellow classmate run support early, smashing a two-run home in the third inning to put MCC on top. The home run was Holtz's ninth career long-ball of the year and ranks second in the ICCAC this season.
Wood went 5.1 innings for the Tigers and struck out seven batters. After a one out hit in the sixth, JJ Stephens (Sioux City, IA/Sioux City East) took the mound for MCC. The freshman faced just one batter, rolling up a double play to end the Falcons' scoring threat. Stephens has not allowed a run in his last three appearances.
Ceballos extended the lead to 3-0 in the sixth with a deep solo home run to left center field, the freshman's seventh home run of the year. Barr got the nod for the seventh inning once again and struck out a pair of batters in the frame for his conference-leading eighth save of the season. Barr's eight saves are also tied for 11th in the nation.
Freshman Enmanuel Lopez (Santiago, Dominican Republic/Prepara) picked up four hits on the day, including a 3-3 performance in game one to up his team-leading batting average to .421. Bennett Lopez (Dorado, Puerto Rico/PRBA) added a pair of hits on the day to move into sole possession on the career MCC hits list with 117. With Holtz's home run, his 13th career round-tripper, the sophomore moved into seventh place on the all-time hits list with 111.
The Region XI Tournament opens up on Friday in Centerville, IA, hosted by Indian Hills. The Tigers will take on the Falcons, the No. 3 seed, with a time to be determined. Iowa Western Community College took the top seed while Muscatine Community College will be the No. 4 seed. The Tigers won the season series with Indian Hills 5-3 thanks to the two wins on Sunday.
The 16 members of the MCC Sophomore Class consist of Barr, Colton Blackford, Casey Dorhout, Hunter Embray, Ryan Flynn, Gonnerman, Austin Gridley, Holtz, Bennett Lopez, Tsubasa Maruyama, Engel Rosario, Thomas Sanchez, Wyatt Stark, Trevor Swartz, Bryan Ventura, and Wood.
