Council Bluffs, IA—A seven-run first inning in game two propelled the Marshalltown Community College baseball team to an upset of No. 12 Iowa Western Community College on Saturday, splitting the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) doubleheader.
The Tigers dropped game one to the Reivers 8-4, but bounced back with a strong offensive performance early on for a 12-10 win in game two. MCC improves to 19-29 overall and 8-14 in ICCAC play.
MCC struck first in game one, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning as John Magnuson (Elk Run Heights, IA/Waterloo East) singled to left field to score Tony Salato and Luis Duran (Santo Domingo, Dominican Repbulic/Centro de Estudio Espaillat). The Reivers answered with four runs over the next two innings and built a 7-2 lead through five innings.
MCC kept their hopes alive with two runs in the sixth inning as Max McCay (Carlisle, IA/Carlisle) and Kaleb Hanks (Sioux City, IA/Sioux City East), but Iowa Western held off the Tigers for the game one win.
After scoring two runs in the opening inning of game one, the Tigers upped their performance in game two, erupting for seven runs in the opening frame of the nightcap as 13 players came to bat. Sophomore Snayder Ruiz (Caracas, Venezuela/Centro Educativo Montalban) provided a two-run single and Hanks followed up with a two-run triple to deep left field.
MCC added on to its lead with two runs in the second. Ruiz picked up his third RBI of the game with a bases loaded walk in the inning. Iowa Western slowly fought its way back, scoring five runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to pull within two, 9-7.
After three-straight scoreless innings, the Tiger offense tacked on three more insurance runs in the sixth as Mieses singled to score Brok Hopwood (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) and Ceballos ripped a two-run double.
The Reivers threatened with a rally in the seventh inning, but Greg Glass (Waterloo, IA/Waterloo Columbus) struck out the only batter he faced to end the game and earn his first-career save.
Barrett picked up the win on the mound, improving to 4-1 on the year. Duran collected one hit in the game after tallying two knocks in the opener to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Mieses, Ceballos, and Barrett all added two hits in the victory.
Both teams wrap up their regular season conference series finale with a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon with first pitch set for 12:00 PM at Doc Ross Field.
A look at the final out from @MCCTigers_BB upset of No. 12 Iowa Western in Council Bluffs today! pic.twitter.com/n9bPmef6Tk
— Marshalltown Tigers (@MCC_ATH) May 7, 2017
