After a grueling road schedule to start the 2014 season, the Marshalltown Community College softball welcomes its home opener on Wednesday afternoon with an Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) doubleheader against Des Moines Area Community College. First pitch is set for 3:00 PM.
Unplayable field conditions from a lengthy winter forced the Tigers to travel throughout four states in the Midwest to get their first 30 games of the regular season in. While postponements and cancellations have hindered the Tigers' schedule, the team has jumped out to a 17-13 record overall and are tied for fourth place in the ICCAC with a 5-7 league mark.
The MCC offense has been led by freshman shortstop Lexie Biehl (Maquoketa, IA/Maquoketa) in the early portion of the schedule. The rookie leads the conference in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, doubles, and RBI. As a team, the Tigers lead the conference in batting average (.397), on base percentage (.454), and slugging percentage (.591).
In the circle, MCC has used a rotation of pitchers to reach the 17-win plateau. Sarah Wilson (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) has posted an 8-7 record on the year and ranks second in the league with 119 strikeouts. Brianna James (Lynnville, IA/Lynnville-Sully) is currently 6-2 with a team-best 2.18 earned run average.
The Tigers are looking to avenge two conference losses to the Bears earlier this season. DMACC defeated MCC 6-2 and 3-0 on April 1.