Iowa Falls, IA—Sophomore pitchers Sarah Wilson (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) and Mackenzie Gott (Oskaloosa, IA/Oskaloosa) combined for 24 strikeouts as the Marshalltown Community College softball team took two games from Ellsworth Community College, 4-2 and 5-0. The Tigers are now 30-16 overall and 16-10 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC).
Wilson, ranked second in the nation in total strikeouts with 192, recorded the first six outs of game one on her own, striking out six Panthers. Wilson had nine strikeouts in the first four innings of play and finished the game with 13, her seventh double-digit strikeout performance of the year.
While Wilson kept the Panthers off the board, the Tiger offense provided support to help the righty with a four-run cushion. Tacie Blunk (Boone, IA/Boone) scored the first run of the game in the fourth inning to put the Tigers up 1-0 and drove in Lexie Biehl (Maquoketa, IA/Maquoketa) in the fifth to double the lead.
Brooke Dunkin (Bussey, IA/Twin Cedars) and Biehl led off the top of the seventh with back-to-back singles and after a sacrifice bunt from Gott, came around to score after Blunk reached base on an error in right field. Wilson allowed two runs in the seventh, but left two runners stranded to end the game and earn her 15th victory of the year.
Gott was out to match Wilson's performance in game two as the sophomore struck out six batters through the first three frames. The Tigers got on the board early with a run in the top of the first after Dunkin led off the game with a single. Dunkin stole second and scored on a single from Blunk for the 1-0 edge.
The Tigers went three-up three-down in the second and third as Gott maintained the 1-0 lead. The Tiger offense gave Gott some breathing room after scoring four runs in the fourth. Gott, Blunk, Holli Baker (Grimes, IA/Dallas Center-Grimes), and Shaiann Treu (Waianae, HI/Nanakuli) all reached base and scored to pull away.
All three outs in the seventh came as strikeouts from Gott to close out the game. Gott finished the outing with 11 strikeouts, her second straight appearance with at least 10 strikeouts. Over her last 19 innings, Gott has allowed just three earned runs while striking out 29 batters and has allowed just eight hits.
The Tigers return home for a conference doubleheader tomorrow afternoon against Iowa Central Community College. First pitch is set for 3:00 PM.
