WATERLOO – Iowa Wesleyan College fought off elimination in the Midwest Collegiate Conference baseball tourney Friday night by defeating St. Ambrose University 9-6 at Riverfront Stadium.
The Tigers rebounded from a loss in their opening game of the tourney to knock out the Fighting Bees and advance to another elimination game Saturday. IWC will face the loser of Saturday’s first game between top-seeded William Penn University and #2 seed Mount Mercy College.
The third-seeded Tigers must win out the rest of the tourney after losing to Mount Mercy 7-6 Friday afternoon. The Mustangs jumped out to a 6-1 lead and held off Wesleyan’s late rally to send the Tigers into the loser’s bracket.
Edder Morales (Jr.-Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and Jared Zueck (Jr.-Williamsville, Ill.) both hit home runs for IWC. Morales hit a two-run shot to left-center in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 6-3. After Mount Mercy tacked on a run in the top of the eighth, Zueck belted a three-run homer to straightaway center in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-6.
The Tigers out-hit the Mustangs 11-10 but committed four errors. Senior Hector Acevedo (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) took the loss, allowing 10 hits and six earned runs in seven innings while striking out five.
IWC bounced back in the second game, using a six-run second inning to take a lead it would never give back. Devin Smith (Jr.-Lynwood, Ill.) hit a two-run single to start the scoring and Frany Cruz (Sr.-Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) launched a three-run home run later in the inning.
The Bees pecked away with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth, but Jay Olson (Fr.-Agency, Iowa) singled in a run as part of a two-run seventh. After SAU bounced back with two in the eighth, Smith hit a solo homer to right-center to cap the Tigers’ scoring.
Justin DeVoe (Sr.-Newton, Iowa) was the recipient of the run support and threw six innings, allowing nine hits while striking out six and recording his fourth win of the year. Travis Parker (Jr.-Taylor Ridge, Ill.) and Jorge Martinez (Jr.-Tucson, Ariz.) came on in relief to finish for the Tigers.
IWC improved to 28-21 on the season and will face Mount Mercy or William Penn at 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening. The winner of Saturday’s second game advances to play Sunday against the winner of the Mount Mercy/William Penn game.
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 #2 MMC 7 #3 IWC 6
Box score #3 IWC 9 #4 SAU 6
MCC Tournament Bracket
