The Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) baseball team saw its season come to a close with a pair of losses in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Baseball Tournament May 8 to 13 at Clinton.
The Bears took a No. 1 seed into the tournament after winning the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) regular season championship with a 21-7 record. But they dropped their tournament opener, 10-0, to fifth-seeded Kirkwood Community College (KCC) on May 10. DMACC bounced back with a 7-2 elimination game win over North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) on May 11 and then fell to Northeast (Neb.) Community College (NENEB), 8-3, in another elimination game on May 12.
The Bears closed the season with a 38-17 record.
DMACC was limited to just three hits in the loss to KCC, singles by sophomore Denver Blinn of West Fargo, N.D., freshman Grant Bohling of Lincoln, Neb., and sophomore Jacob Pinkerton of Beatrice, Neb., and the game was called because of the mercy rule after the Bears batted in the bottom of the sixth.
Freshman Kaden Peterson of Luther started on the mound for DMACC and lasted just an inning, allowing five runs on four hits. He struck out one batter, walked three and took the loss to fall to 5-2 for the season. Sophomore Spencer Hanson of West Des Moines went three and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on five hits with one strikeout and one walk. Sophomore Chris Witzke of Humboldt pitched two-thirds of an inning and gave up two runs, walked four and struck out one and freshman Cole Schumacher of Bennington, Neb., also went two-thirds of an inning and retired the only two batters he faced.
Sophomores Calen Schwabe of Thompson, N.D., Morgan Holmes of Minneapolis, Minn., Pinkerton and freshman Carter Troncin of Urbandale had two hits apiece in DMACC's win over NIACC. The Bears took a 4-0 lead in the second and added three insurance runs in the fifth. NIACC scored its only two runs in the top of the eighth.
Schwabe, Blinn, sophomore Austin Murr of Stillwater, Minn., Troncin, Holmes and Pinkerton drove in one run each for DMACC.
Sophomore Henry Ristvedt of Savage, Minn., pitched seven and two-thirds innings and improved to 6-2 with the win. He allowed two runs on three hits, struck out 10 and walked five. Freshman Will Moritz of West Des Moines went an inning and a third, allowing two hits and walking two batters.
DMACC led NENEB 3-1 after four innings but gave up three runs in the fifth and four in the seventh and saw the season end with the loss.
Troncin, sophomore Evan Salmon of Urbandale and Pinkerton had two hits apiece, including a double by Troncin, and Schwabe, Murr and Pinkerton drove in one run apiece.
Freshman Garret Reisz of Council Bluffs pitched the first four and a third innings for the Bears and suffered the loss, his second of the season against three victories. He allowed four runs on four hits, struck out five and walked four. Sophomore Thomas Bruchu of Stillwater, Minn., went two innings, allowing four runs on six hits with one strikeout and one walk and Moritz pitched two and two-thirds innings, giving up one hit and striking out one batter.