MASON CITY – The NIACC baseball team split an ICCAC doubleheader with Northeast CC on Saturday afternoon at Roosevelt Field.
NIACC won the first game 7-4 and Northeast CC managed a split in the twinbill with a 7-4 win in the second game.
NIACC (33-17 overall) is 20-12 in the ICCAC heading into Sunday’s regular seaason finale against Northeast CC. Game time on Sunday at Roosevelt Field is slated for 2 p.m.
In Saturday’s first game, NIACC trailed 3-0 after the first inning, but the Trojans outscored the Hawks 7-1 over the final six innings to claim the series-opening victory.
NIACC scored four runs in the second inning with a pair of two-run home runs from Bennett McCollow and Cody Kelly. It was Kelly’s 19th home run of the season (fourth on NIACC’s single-season home run list) and McCollow’s 12th of the season.
NIACC also plated three runs in the third inning. The Trojans received an RBI-single from Kade Peloquin and RBI-doubles from Cole Fuecker and McCollow.
In the second game, Northeast CC jumped out to a 5-0 lead by scoring three runs in the first inning and adding single runs in the second and third innngs.
NIACC trimmed the deficit to 5-4 with four runs of its own in the third inning, but Northeast CC held the Trojans scoreless in their final six at-bats.
Heading into Sunday’s regular season finale, NIACC sits in second place in the ICCAC with its 20-12 record. Kirkwood leads the league with a record of 20-11 with a single game left against Southwestern.
DMACC and Southeastern are tied for third with identical records of 20-13. DMACC and Southeastern wrapped up their regular seasons Saturday with DMACC winning the series 2-1.
If NIACC wins on Sunday, the Trojans are guaranteed at least the second seed for the regional tournament. If NIACC wins and Kirkwood loses to Southwestern, the Trojans would be the No. 1 seed for the regional tournament.
