The Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) baseball team swept both ends of a doubleheader from Butler County Community College (BCCC) February 22 to improve to 3-1 for the season.
Game scores were 14-5 and 10-8.
Sophomore Austin Murr of Stillwater, Minn., belted a grand-slam home run and sophomore Denver Blinn of West Fargo, N.D., hit a three-run shot to lead DMACC in the opener. The Bears overcame a 3-0 deficit with five runs in the top of the fourth and all but put the game out of reach with seven runs in the top of the sixth.
Blinn and sophomores Roman Vega of Buffalo, Minn., Jacob Pinkerton of Beatrice, Neb., and Calen Schwabe of Thompson, N.D., had two hits apiece in the win and Schwabe came away with two runs batted in.
Sophomore Spencer Hanson of West Des Moines pitched the first five innings and improved to 2-0 for the season with the win. He allowed four runs on six hits, struck out seven and walked two. Sophomore Jakob Richardson of Cave Creek, Ariz., pitched two innings, allowing one run on two hits. He struck out three and walked two.
Murr hit a two-run home run and sophomore Evan Salmon and freshman Carter Troncin, both of Urbandale, drove in two runs apiece to help the Bears to their win in the second game.
DMACC took a 7-0 lead in the first inning and scored three times in the top of the fourth, BCCC trailed 10-5 after four innings and made it interesting with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh.
Freshman Logan Ymker of Sioux Falls, S.D., pitched the first two and two-thirds innings for DMACC, allowing five runs on three hits. He struck out four and walked three. Freshman Nathaniel Gorczyca of Omaha, Neb., worked three innings and notched his first win of the season. He allowed two runs on three hits, struck out four and walked two. Sophomore Chris Witzke of Humboldt earned his first save of the season, working an inning and a third. He allowed one run, struck out two and walked two.
The Bears opened the 2019 season against Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa Feb. 14 at Tonkawa, Okla., and split a doubleheader with the Mavericks. The Bears dropped the opener, 6-2, and won the nightcap, 16-6.
Sophomore Jack Johnson of St. Paul, Minn., had a pair of hits for DMACC in the opener, including a double. Sophomore Nate Holliday of Muscatine suffered the loss.
Murr and Vega homered and drove in two runs apiece and Johnson had three hits and drove in three runs to lift the Bears to the win in the second game.
Hanson threw five innings and came away with the win. He allowed two runs on six hits and struck out one batter.