Baseball, softball gear up for busy home conference weekend
The Marshalltown Community College baseball and softball teams host a series of critical Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) home games this weekend as both teams will play four games between Friday and Saturday.
The Marshalltown Community College baseball and softball teams host a series of critical Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) home games this weekend as both teams will play four games between Friday and Saturday.
The MCC baseball team will take on Iowa Western Community College for a four-game set beginning on Friday at Shawn Williams Field. The Tigers currently sit in third-place in the league standings with a 5-7 record. The Reivers are in a tie for first with Indian Hills Community College. The Tigers dropped all four games of the two teams' first meeting this year on March 29-30.
After a seven-game skid that included the losses to Iowa Western, the Tigers have won nine of their last 13 games, including five conference wins. MCC has scored 89 runs during the stretch.
The Tigers will look to ride the heavy-hitting of Bennett Mann (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown), Eric Kent (Fort Madison, IA/Fort Madison), and Aneudis Sandoval(Manati, PR/Fernando Callejo) who have combined to hit 14 home runs since April 5.Richard England (Centerville, IA/Centerville) heads the pitching staff with a 3-1 record and a team-leading 37 strikeouts and 3.47 earned run average. Sophomore John Bloom (Laurel, IA/East Marshall) has allowed just one earned run in his last 13 innings, picking up a win and three saves.
Friday's doubleheader will open up at 2:00 PM while Saturday's twinbill will start at 1:00 PM. Tickets for adults will be $6.00 while children 12 and under while be free. MCC faculty, staff, and students will receive free admission.
On the softball diamond, the Tigers host a pair of conference foes with a Friday doubleheader against North Iowa Area Community College and Iowa Lakes Community College on Saturday. The Tigers (22-14/10-8) are currently in fourth place in the ICCAC and just two games back of third-place Des Moines Area Community College
The Tigers look to take two from North Iowa Area on Friday after splitting with the Trojans on March 28. MCC took game one 8-3 before falling 6-3 in the nightcap. The Tigers have a chance to sweep the season series against Iowa Lakes after sweeping the Lakers on April 12 with consecutive 8-0 shutouts.
Sarah Wilson (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa), the reigning ICCAC Pitcher of the Week, has led the charge in the circle for the Tigers, winning her last four decisions. Lexie Biehl (Maquoketa, IA/Maquoketa) has continued to power the MCC offense with a league-leading .516 batting average. As a team, the Tigers lead the ICCAC with a .379 batting average which ranks 16th nationally.
Friday's games begin at 3:00 PM while first pitch on Saturday is slated for 2:00 PM. Prior to the start of Saturday's doubleheader, the Tigers will honor eight members of the team as part of Sophomore Day.
Admission to all softball games are free of charge.
All games this weekend will provide live stats through iScore Sports. For complete coverage, click here.