Cedar Rapids, IA—The Marshalltown Community College baseball team earned a split at Kirkwood Community College on Thursday afternoon, snapping a seven-game losing streak. The Tigers lost game one 1-0 on a walk-off single but rallied for a 5-0 game two victory.
Despite the loss in game one, starter Austin Battaglia (Waukee, IA/Waukee) and reliever Kyle Herrick (Adel, IA/Adel-Desoto-Minburn) kept the Tigers in the game with a pair of strong outings on the mound. Battaglia tossed three innings, allowing just one hit while Herrick kept the Eagles off the base path for three straight innings before a leadoff error in the bottom of the seventh led to the only run of the game.
Eric Kent (Fort Madison, IA/Fort Madison) recorded the lone hit in the opener as the Tigers put two runners on base with one out in the top of the seventh inning. MCC failed to capitalize on the opportunity as Kirkwood stole the cross-division matchup.
Parker Rolfes (Le Mars, IA/Le Mars) got the nod on the bump in game two for the Tigers and the freshman dazzled on the mound, allowing just one hit in three innings of work to pick up his first collegiate victory. Fellow hurlers Prince De Marco (Chicago, IL/Agricultural Sciences) and John Bloom (Laurel, IA/East Marshall) teamed up with Rolfes to toss the four-hit shutout, the team's first of the year.
After scoring just seven runs in their last seven games, the Tiger offense came around for five runs to end the losing skid. Daryl Blaskovich (Brentwood Bay, BC/Lambrick Park) went 2-4 at the plate with a run and an RBI to pace the offense. As a team, the Tigers collected six hits in the win.
The Tiger offense caught a spark in the opening frame as Blaskovich came around to score the initial run on a single from Ty Russell (Victoria, BC/Lamrick Park). Russell and catcher Ryan Thrasher (Sherwood Park, AB/St. Francis Xavier) also scored in the inning to put MCC up 3-0 early on. After reaching base for the second straight time on a hit by pitch, Russell put the Tigers up 4-0 in the fifth inning. Steven Dreesman (Carroll, IA/Carroll) led off the sixth inning with a single and came around to score to close out the scoring for the Tigers.
Due to unplayable field conditions at Marshalltown, the Tigers have rescheduled their home series this weekend to be played at Muscatine Community College. The teams will play a four-game series, set to begin on Saturday.
