MOUNT PLEASANT – Jansel Encarnacion (Jr.-Azua, Dominican Republic) pitched a complete game nine-inning shutout and Iowa Wesleyan College claimed a weekend series win against Mount Mercy College with a 6-0 win over the Mustangs Sunday afternoon at the Mapleleaf Athletic Complex.
The Tigers finished by taking two of three games from the Mustangs this weekend, winning the series against the team picked in the preseason by Midwest Collegiate Conference coaches to win the league. IWC improved to 6-2 in MCC play and won four of five games this weekend against conference foes while moving to 14-15 overall.
Though IWC was playing its fifth game in three days, Encarnacion ensured there would be no worries about a possible tired pitching staff. The junior scattered eight hits and struck out 11 in a dominating and efficient performance that took just over two hours to complete.
Encarnacion pitched almost the entire way with a lead, but the margin was hardly a comfortable one until the Tigers scored four times in the seventh to open it up. Wesleyan scored once in the first when Pedro Hernandez (Sr.-Quebradillas, Puerto Rico) continued his hot hitting with an RBI single, and the Tigers added a second run in the fifth when Jay Olson (So.-Agency, Iowa) scored on an error.
Iowa Wesleyan finally broke it open in the bottom of the seventh, sending nine batters to the plate and plating four runs. Jared Zueck (Sr.-Williamsville, Ill.) hit a two-run single and Edder Morales (Sr.-Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and Dick Bargewell (Sr.-Burlington, Wash.) both had run-scoring hits, finally chasing Mustang starter Dustin BeGuhn from the game.
Zueck, Morales and Michael Rosa (Fr.-Santiago, Dominican Republic) all finished with two hits apiece on Sunday. Matthew Mercier and Rey Lopez both led the way with two hits apiece for Mount Mercy, which dropped to 8-19 overall, 1-2 in the MCC.
The Tigers finished the weekend with a total of 29 hits and 21 runs over the three game series and won the last two games after losing the opener on Saturday. Mount Mercy came back from a deficit with five runs in the fifth inning in a 9-5 win over the Tigers in Saturday’s opener, capitalizing on a windy day with three home runs. IWC bounced back in the second game with a 10-7 win as Hernandez hit a home run and Bargewell drove in three runs.
Iowa Wesleyan will face another big conference series this week when it takes on early MCC leader Grand View University on Wednesday and Thursday. The Tigers and Vikings will play a single game at 3 p.m. in Des Moines on Wednesday, and then will play a doubleheader in Mount Pleasant Thursday afternoon starting at 2 p.m.
For more information regarding the IWC golf programs or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
Box score Sat. Game 1 MMC 9 IWC 5
Box score Sat. Game 2 IWC 10 MMC 7
Box score IWC 6 MMC 0
