MOUNT PLEASANT – Edder Morales (Sr.-Barquisimeto, Venezuela) hit a pair of home runs and Iowa Wesleyan College picked up its hitting and pitching in winning both ends of a non-conference doubleheader against Missouri Valley College Tuesday at the Mapleleaf Athletic Complex.
The Tigers defeated the Vikings by scores of 7-1 and 7-4, winning consecutive games for the first time in two weeks and creeping back above the .500 mark for the season. IWC improved to 22-21 this season, while the Vikings of the NAIA Heart of America Athletic Conference dropped to 14-21 overall.
Wesleyan played two of its more complete games in recent weeks, getting timely hitting and solid pitching in both games. The Tigers also hit four home runs in the twinbill and posted five more hits in the two games than they did in an entire three-game series this past weekend against William Penn University.
IWC hit three home runs in the first game, as Morales and Pedro Hernandez (Sr.-Quebradillas, Puerto Rico) hit two-run homers and Jared Zueck (Sr.-Williamsville, Ill.) hit a solo blast. Jay Olson (So.-Agency, Iowa) also had three hits and a shuffled lineup produced 12 hits total in the game. Derek Zander (Jr.-Colorado Springs, Colo.) pitched one of his better games of the season, allowing four hits and one run while striking out three to get his fourth win this year.
The Tigers continued to hit in the second game, recovering from an early 2-0 deficit to score three times in the second inning and four in the third take control. Morales hit his second homer of the day and had two hits, while Dick Bargewell (Sr.-Burlington, Wash.) and Michael Rios (Jr.-Florida, Puerto Rico) both also added a pair of hits each. Bargewell drove in two runs and scored twice, and Rios had a season-high three RBIs.
The Tigers also received a strong starting performance from Evan Cunningham (Sr.-Edinburg, Texas), who started for the first time since the team’s season opening series in February, when he took a line drive off his foot and missed nearly six weeks. Cunningham allowed two hits and two unearned runs in the first inning but then held MVC hitless the next four innings, finishing with three strikeouts and three walks and earning his first win of the season.
The Vikings were held scoreless after the first inning until scoring twice in the top of the seventh. Justin Allen led off the seventh with a solo home run against Edgar Hernandez (Sr.-Jalisco, Mexico) and George Ban later singled in a run, but Hernandez closed the game out with the tying run in the on deck circle.
IWC returns to Midwest Collegiate Conference play this weekend with its final home series of the season against Ashford University. The series is scheduled to begin Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. at the Mapleleaf Athletic Complex.
For more information regarding the IWC baseball program 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 Game 1 IWC 7 MVC 1
Box score Game 2 IWC 7 MVC 4
