Fort Dodge, IA—The Marshalltown Community College softball team upset the third-seeded Iowa Central Community College Tritons on Saturday afternoon to advance to Sunday's Region XI DII Softball Tournament semifinal matchup with top-seeded Kirkwood Community College. The Tigers defeated seventh-seeded North Iowa Area Community College earlier in the day to stay alive in the tournament.
After losing to Kirkwood on Friday in the double-elimination tournament, the Tigers rebounded on Saturday to defeat NIACC 8-0 in the opening game. Faced with elimination once again, MCC held off a late rally from Iowa Central to keep its championship hopes alive.
The Tigers will take on Kirkwood at 1:00 PM Sunday afternoon. Kirkwood defeated MCC 3-0 on day one of the tournament on Friday. The winner will advance to play No. 2 seed and undefeated Des Moines Area Community College at 3:00 PM while the loser will be eliminated.
Brooke Dunkin (Bussey, IA/Twin Cedars) powered the offense in both games as the sophomore catcher went 6-9 at the plate and scored five runs. Sarah Wilson (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa) recorded eight RBI in the two games combined, including a first-inning grand slam against NIACC. Wilson also picked up the win against the Tritons in game two.
Wilson's grand slam against the Trojans gave the Tigers all the scoring they would need as Mackenzie Gott (Oskaloosa, IA/Oskaloosa) pitched a two-hit gem. The sophomore was perfect through the first three and two-thirds innings.
Holli Baker (Grimes, IA/Dallas Center-Grimes) provided a two-run double in the second to score Lexie Biehl (Maquoketa, IA/Maquoketa) and Gott for a six-run lead over the Trojans. Wilson ended the game after reaching base on an error in the sixth allowing Biehl and Gott to score the mercy-rule winning runs.
Dunkin and Biehl, the top two hitters in the MCC lineup, combined for six hits and four runs in the win. Gott struck out seven batters and is now 2-0 in the tournament while allowing just one earned run in 10 innings.
The offensive spark continued in game two as the Tigers scored three runs in the top of the first to set the tone. Tacie Blunk (Boone, IA/Boone) delivered a two-run single down the right field line and Wilson scored on an Iowa Central error. Biehl doubled the MCC lead in the second with a three-run home run to right-center.
With two outs in the fifth, the Tigers managed to load the bases and add two more runs as Wilson continued to hold the Tritons scoreless. The Tritons responded with two runs to get on the board in the fifth, but MCC was able to add a run in the sixth and seventh. Iowa Central made things interesting in the seventh with three runs of their own, but Wilson recorded her sixth strikeout to finish off the game and send MCC to the next round.
The three wins are the most an MCC team has recorded at the Region XI Tournament, dating back to 2000. The Tigers also recorded just their second win ever against Iowa Central in playoff action (2-5).
