Muscatine, IA—Amanda Staudt (Charles City, IA/Charles City) blasted a home run in each game and the Marshalltown Community College softball team connected on five long-balls total, but the Tigers suffered two Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) losses to the Muscatine Community College Cardinals on Sunday, falling 14-6 and 11-6.
Staudt closed out game one with a solo home run in the fifth inning before helping the Tigers take a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game two with a shot to right centerfield. The Tigers scored a total of six runs in the first inning between the two games to put a scare into the Cardinals early on.
Joining Staudt in the home run column were Kortlan Ollinger (Robins, IA/Linn Mar), Raini Hilmer (Dysart, IA/Union) and Sarah Ghee (Carlisle, IA/Carlisle). Staudt finished the day 4-7 at the plate with three RBI and three runs scored. Ollinger collected three hits and four runs scored.
Two weeks after scoring just two runs against Muscatine in a doubleheader loss on March 29, the Tigers took a commanding 4-0 lead in the opening inning of game one on Sunday. Kari Smith (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown) singled to score Ollinger and with the bases loaded, Chezarae Garcia (Ogden, UT/Ogden) doubled to right to clear the paths for the early advantage.
The Cardinals scored two of their own in the bottom half, but Ollinger drove a pitch over the centerfield wall in the second inning to maintain a comfortable lead for the Tigers. A series of errors to open the bottom of the second from the Tigers allowed the Cardinals to score five runs in the inning and take a 7-5 lead. MCC went scoreless over the next two innings as the Cardinals tacked on three more scores. Staudt's solo shot in the fifth pulled the Tigers within four, but Muscatine scored four more times in the bottom to end the game in five.
Staudt's two-run home run in the first inning of game two scored Ollinger to put MCC on top again. The lead was short-lived as the Cardinals scored four runs in the bottom of the first. Hilmer's team-leading fifth home run of the year came in the top of the second to tie the game at four, scoring Garcia on the drive.
Muscatine regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the second and increased their margin to three with a 7-4 edge in the bottom of the fourth, but Ghee sent a 1-0 pitch over the left center fence, scoring Ollinger on the play, to pull MCC back within one in the fifth. The Cardinals doubled their lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth, and finished off the Tigers with three more in the sixth. Muscatine retired the final nine MCC batters to complete the sweep.
MCC's three-day road trip concludes on Monday afternoon with a conference doubleheader at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, IA. First pitch is set for 2:00 PM.
