MOUNT PLEASANT – Hector Acevedo (Sr.-Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) notched his eighth win of the season, leading Iowa Wesleyan College to a 3-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader against Waldorf College Wednesday.
The Tigers suffered a power outage in the second game, though, as Warriors pitcher Tyson Nesbitt tossed a four-hitter in a 3-1 Waldorf win. The loss dropped IWC to 26-20 overall and 11-9 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference going into the final weekend of the regular season.
Acevedo allowed four hits and one earned run while striking out nine in a complete game. He received all the support he’d need in the first three innings. Frany Cruz (Sr.-Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) drove in the first run with a fielder’s choice and later scored when Diego Marquez (Sr.-Los Mochis Sinoloa, Mexico) reached on an error. IWC added another run in the third when Jared Klosterboer (Jr.-Williamsburg, Iowa) reached on an error to score Cruz.
The Tigers stranded ten runners in the first game, though, and fell further into a hole in the second game. Jared Zueck (Jr.-Williamsville, Ill.) collected three of the team’s four hits against Nesbitt, but IWC twice stranded runners at third base and didn’t receive a hit from a player other than Zueck until Roderick Barcelo (Jr.-Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) singled in the seventh.
Waldorf did its work in the early innings against Tiger starter Milton Gonzalez (Jr.-Canovanas, Puerto Rico). The Warriors scored on a passed ball in the first inning and then took the lead back in the third when Bryan Kloetzke hit a two-run homer to right field.
Zueck finished the day with five hits and two runs scored, while Cruz drove in a pair of runs and also scored twice.
IWC completes the regular season with a huge three-game series this weekend against Viterbo (Wis.) University at the Mapleleaf Community Athletic Complex. The Tigers and V-Hawks will play three games Saturday and Sunday with third place in the MCC standings on the line. The games hold added significance because the top three teams in the conference receive a bye into the double-elimination portion of the conference tournament, while teams finishing fourth through seventh will contest a single-elimination play-in just to get into the double-elimination bracket.
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 IWC 3 Waldorf 2
Box score Waldorf 3 IWC 1
