MASON CITY, Iowa – NIACC baseball is still rolling.
The Trojans have run their winning streak up to 15 by winning the first two games of the conference season against rival No. 17 Iowa Central 2-1 and 13-8 on Saturday.
Nick Tillo’s (So., Sioux City, IA) two-run homer in the fourth gave the Trojans (17-2, 2-0 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference) game one, while a seven-run third inning in game two vaulted the Trojans to a game two win.
Tillo had two hits in each game, Tanner Unkel (Fr., Cedar Rapids, IA) had three hits in game two, and Tyler Peterson (So., Eden Prairie, MN) and Drew Verstegen (Fr., Mason City, IA) both had two RBI in the second game.
NIACC’s Lukas Bakker (Fr., Brisbane, Australia) and Iowa Central’s Andrew Redman put together a pitcher’s dual in the first game. Bakker had six strikeouts in 6.2 innings and improved to 5-0, while Redman dropped to 2-2. Ean McNeal (Fr., Cedar Rapids, IA) came in to record the save for NIACC.
NIACC had seven hits in game one while Iowa Central had five. Tillo’s homerun gave the Trojans the lead in the fourth. The Triton’s lone run came off a homerun by Winder Fuentes in the top of the fifth.
In game two, Iowa Central scored three in the first and two in the second inning, but NIACC erased that in the bottom of the second by scoring five to tie it. The Tritons scored one in the top of the third, but the Trojans exploded with seven in the bottom half of that inning to make it 12-6.
Robert Swenson (Fr., Mason City, IA) added to the Trojan lead with a homerun in the bottom of the fourth, and Iowa Central ended scoring with two in the top of the fifth.
NIACC had 16 hits in the night cap, while Iowa Central had 10. Jeremy Cronk (Fr., North Liberty, IA) earned the win and is now 2-0 this season.
These two teams will meet again at Roosevelt Field for a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 1 p.m.
