Centerville, IA— A pair of early three-run home runs from Eric Kent (Fort Madison, IA/Fort Madison) and Bennett Mann (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown) were not enough to hold off a potent Indian Hills Community College offensive attack on Friday, as the Falcons rallied for a 16-8 game one victory. The bats cooled in game two, allowing Indian Hills to take a 5-0 victory.
With two outs in the top of the first inning, Mann came to bat and sent a shot over the fence to score Kent and Ty Russell (Victoria, BC/Lambrick Park) for the early lead over the first-place Falcons (26-11/8-2. The lead disappeared immediately as Indian Hills responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning to go on top.
The Tigers (16-21/4-6) matched the four-run output with four runs of their own in the top of the second, including a leadoff solo home run from Aneudis Sandoval (Manati, PR/Fernando Callejo), his sixth long ball of the year. Kent's third home run of the year to scored Russell and leadoff hitter Daryl Blaskovich (Brentwood Bay, BC/Lambrick Park) to put MCC up 7-4. Starting pitcher Alex McCune (Johnston, IA/Johnston) kept the Falcons off the board over the next two innings, but the right hander was eventually ran from the game after Indian Hills scored five in the bottom of the fourth.
The Falcons added one more in the fifth before a six-run sixth put the game out of reach. Pedro Lopez (Naples, FL/Palmetto Ridge) recorded an RBI single in the top of the seventh to score Kent for MCC's final run.
Kent finished the opener 4-4 with three runs and three RBI while Lopez tallied three hits to pace the 14-hit attack, MCC's fifth double-digit hit game in its last seven contests. Mann's home run gave him his ninth shot of the year, good enough for second in the conference.
MCC was held to just three hits in the nightcap, the team's fewest hits since April 3. Russell, Kent, and Lopez were the lone Tigers to record a hit.
Starting pitcher Austin Battaglia (Waukee, IA/Waukee) did his part to keep the Flacons, the top-run scoring team in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC), in check, allowing just three runs through four innings of play. MCC put two runners in scoring position in the top of the fifth but failed to convert as the Falcons held on for the afternoon sweep.
The two teams finish off the four-game set with a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon, scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM.
