MASON CITY – The NIACC baseball team split an ICCAC twinbill with Ellsworth Wednesday afternoon at Roosevelt Field.
Ellsworth won the first game 3-2, which snapped an eight-game winning streak by the Trojans. NIACC responded by winning game two, 1-0, with Ike Mezzenga driving in Zach Zaetta with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The last time NIACC won a 1-0 game was on April 7, 2013 when the Trojans nipped Kirkwood 1-0 in the second game of a doubleheader. In that game nine years ago, NIACC’s Lucas Bakker gained the complete-game shutout allowing five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.
In Wednesday’s 1-0 win, NIACC’s Connor Wietgrefe held the Panthers scoreless for nine innings allowing four hits with a career-high nine strikeouts and one walk. Wietgrefe, a freshman left-hander from Prior Lake, Minn., retired the Panthers in order in the first, third, seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
NIACC collected hits in six of the nine innings but did not score a run until its last at-bat in the ninth inning.
In the ninth inning, Zaetta led off with a single and reached second on a sacrifict bunt by Cody Kelly. Mezzenga then singled to left field and Zaetta scored the lone run of the contest by sliding past Ellsworth catcher Fabian Dumay with the winning run.
In the first game, Ellsworth snapped the Trojans’ winning streak by scoring single runs in the second, third and seventh innings.
NIACC managed single runs in the second and seventh innings.
The Trojans trailed 3-1 heading into their last at-bat. Noah Juliar trimmed the deficit to a single run by scoring on a wild pitch but the Trojans could not get any closer.
NIACC (27-15 overall, 15-10 in the ICCAC) returns to action Saturday and Sunday at home against Iowa Western.
