Centerville, IA – The Marshalltown Community College baseball team entered the Region XI Baseball Tournament 8-32 and 6-18 in conference play. Their 6-18 conference record earned the Tigers the third seed in the tournament, taking on the 34-20 second seeded Falcons of Indian Hills Community College. The Tigers were 1-7 against the Falcons this season, but were able to pull off the upset, winning 10-5 and advancing to game four.
The Tigers ended the first inning down 2-1 but responded in the third inning by adding three runs. Elijah Bergeron brought in Jose Mieses and Jeffry Roldan on a single to right field and then made his way across home plate with help from Marving Serrano and Luke Woodward's single to center. The bats stayed hot for the Tigers, extending their lead in the fourth and sixth innings. The Falcons added single runs in the seventh and ninth innings but were unable to complete the comeback.
While the bats were active all game long, Coach Johnson's aggressive game plan worked out, as the team totaled eight stolen bases with sophomore Jose Mieses recording four stolen bases. Elijah Bergeron and Luke Woodward led the Tigers at the plate, each recording three RBIs on the day. Jeffry Roldan also had a solid day, going 3-4 with an RBI and making his way around the bases three times. Walter Hernandez was given the start on the mound, pitching seven innings, facing thirty-three batters and recorded six strikeouts.
"We had a great week of practice and it showed today, the coaching staff put together a game plan and the kids really came out and executed it," stated Head Coach Kim Johnson. "Walter threw very well again and got us deep in the game and the pen did the rest. We swung the bats extremely well and had some great two out hitting as well. We also had eight stolen bases that really put pressure on their defense. It was a great team win from the dugout to the guys between the lines to the coaching staff."
With the first round victory, the Tigers will now face the Reivers of Iowa Western Community College at 11:00 AM in Centerville, Iowa. The Tigers dropped at eight games to the Reivers this season and will look to play spoilers yet again. The game will be streamed live at gopitchtv.com
