Centerville, IA—Schedule changes and unfavorable weather proved to have little effect on the Marshalltown Community College baseball team as the Tigers swept Indian Hills Community College in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) action Friday night. MCC needed just five innings for the 11-0 win in game one and rolled to an 8-1 win in game two.
Originally scheduled to be played Saturday in Marshalltown, impending weather forced the doubleheader to be played at Pat Daugherty Field, home of the Falcons. Playing under a steady drizzle throughout the night, MCC ended a three-game skid and picked up a pair of critical conference victories.
Weather has wreaked havoc on the state of Iowa as of late, forcing a number of changes. Saturday's twinbill between the Tigers and Falcons is tentatively set for 2:00 PM in Marshalltown. Prior to the start of the doubleheader, 22 sophomores will be recognized for their contributions to the MCC baseball program over the past two seasons.
When the two teams were able to finally take the field, MCC struck first. Sophomore Diogen Ceballos (La Vega, Dominican Republic/Liceo la Romana) drew a leadoff walk and scored on a Peyton Stephens (Carlisle, IA/Carlisle) single. An RBI single from Tony Salato (Knoxville, IA/Knoxville) scored Kaleb Hanks (Sioux City, IA/Sioux City East) to double the lead in the third.
MCC starting pitcher Juan Carlos Gonzalez (Piedra Blanca, Dominican Republic/)) was in command of his pitches throughout the game, tossing a perfect first and second innings. The sophomore received plenty of run support as the offense eruprted for nine runs in the fifth inning. Adam Barrett (Council Bluffs, IA/Abraham Lincoln) delivered an RBI double and Salato added a two-run single to highlight the inning.
Salato went 3-4 with three RBI in the opener. Jose Mieses (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Prepara) joined Stephens with two hits in the win. Gonzalez went the distance, allowing just two hits with six strikeouts.
Barrett got the start on the mound for the Tigers in game two and the freshman contained the Falcon bats early and often as the game went through three innings without a run on the board. MCC broke free as Joel Rosauer (Elk Run Heights, IA/Waterloo East) scored Salato for the game's first run in the fourth. Luis Duran (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) tacked on an RBI single in the fifth to extend the lead to 4-0.
Barrett poured in one of his best efforts of the year on the mound as the freshman held the Falcons scoreless through five innings and left seven runners stranded on base. Barrett worked 5.1 innings, allowing just one unearned run while striking out four. JJ Stephens (Sioux City, IA/Sioux City East) tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Duran, this week's NJCAA Division I Player of the Week collected two hits in the nightcap to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Peyton Stephens added two more hits in the nightcap to double his total for the day.
For schedule updates and more regarding Saturday's doubleheader, visit www.mccathletics.com, follow the Tigers on twitter Follow @MCCTigers_BB, like Marshalltown Community College Athletics on Facebook, and follow the Tigers on Instagram at @MCC_Tigers.
A look at the final out from @MCCTigers_BB sweep of @IHCCBaseball tonight in Centerville! pic.twitter.com/F80yjp0nB0
— Marshalltown Tigers (@MCC_ATH) April 29, 2017