Muscatine, IA—Runs were plentiful for the Marshalltown Community College Baseball team on Sunday, but the Tigers managed to split with Muscatine Community College in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play at Tom Bruner Field. MCC won game one 11-1 in five innings but fell on a walk-off home run, 10-9 in the nightcap.
Freshman hurler Juan Carlos Gonzalez (Piedra Blanca, Dominican Republic/Salome Urena de Henrriquez) needed very little run support in the opener, but the Tigers provided it anyways. After a pair of scoreless innings from both teams to start the day, the Tigers erupted for eight runs in the third inning. Bryan Ventura (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Continental) delivered a solo home run to open the scoring and the next seven batters to come to the plate eventually scored in the frame thanks to four walks.
Freshman Luis Duran (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Centro de Estudio Espaillat) added a solo home run in the fourth inning to extend the lead. Bennett Lopez (Dorado, Puerto Rico/PRBA) added a run-scoring double and Enmanuel Lopez (Santiago, Dominican Repbulic/Prepara) scored Christian Jaworski (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Bloomfield Hills) for the final run.
Ventura, Duran, Jaworski, Logan Holtz (Urbana, IA/Center Point-Urbana) and Diogen Ceballos (La Vega, Dominican Republic/Liceo la Romana) all had two hits in the win for the Tigers. Both of Holtz's hits were doubles as the Tigers recorded six extra base hits.
Gonzalez dominated the Cardinals from start to finish in game one. A leadoff single was the only hit Muscatine managed to record on the day. The freshman struck out a career-high 10 batters in just five innings. Gonzalez now ranks sixth in the nation with 14.16 K/Game. His 1.57 earned run average, five wins, two saves, and 54 strikeouts all lead the ICCAC.
MCC opened game two with a pair of runs in the first inning, including an RBI-double from Duran, igniting the freshman's big game for the Tigers. The Cardinals found life in their bats, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead.
Ventura added a sacrifice fly in the second and a two-run home run from Holtz in the third tied the game. Enmanuel Lopez's solo home run in the fourth put MCC ahead, but the Cardinals answered with a run of their own in the bottom half. Following a two-run fifth from Muscatine, Enmanuel Lopez willed the Tigers back in to contention with a two-run home run, his second of the day, to tie the game at eight.
An RBI-bunt from Joel Rosauer (Elk Run Heights, IA/Waterloo East) scored Kaleb Hanks (Sioux City, IA/Sioux City East) to give the Tigers a 9-8 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh. JD Barr (South Sioux City, NE/Bishop Heelan Catholic) limited the Cardinals in the sixth and recorded two outs to start the seventh. After a hit by pitch, the Tigers went to the bullpen and the Cardinals were able to put the ball over the right-center fence for the win.
Duran finished the contest 3-3 at the plate with three doubles. Enmanuel Lopez continued to thrive at the plate, going 3-4 with the two home runs. The freshman now ranks fifth nationally with a .518 batting average and is on a nine-game hitting streak.
Holtz has been on a tear at the plate as well for MCC, also riding a nine-game hitting streak while batting .515 along the way. Duran upped his season batting average to .424, second on the team.
MCC heads to North Iowa Area Community College for a single contest on April 7 at 3:00 PM.
