• Four DMACC pitchers combine on a one-hitter in a 2-0 win in the first game on May 5
• Sophomore Jake Porter wins second game on May 5, 6-5
• Bears will be the No. 5 seed in the 2024 Region 11 Division II Baseball Championship

The DMACC baseball team closed out the 2023-24 regular season with two wins in a three-game series against Southwestern Community College (SWCC) May 5 and 6 at Creston.

The Bears took both ends of a doubleheader on May 5, 2-0 and 6-5, and SWCC came away with a 9-6 win on May 6.

DMACC closed the season at 30-23 overall and 18-15 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC).

The Bears scored two runs in the top of the eighth to come away with the win in the opener on May 5. Sophomores Camden Kaufman of Waukee and Cory Bantam of Woodbine had run-scoring hits in the inning. Sophomore Cael Boever of Sioux City was the only DMACC player with more than one hit, getting a single and a double.

Sophomore Chance Key of Waverly started for the Bears and pitched the first three innings, He allowed one hit and struck out four batters. Sophomore Jacob Sjuts of Humphrey, Neb., also went three innings and recorded three strikeouts. Sophomore Max Martin of Franklin, Wis. pitched an inning and a third and struck out four batters and freshman Brennan Haman of West Fargo, N.C. improved to 4-0 with the win. He struck out all four batters he faced.

DMACC used a five-run third inning to come away with the win in the second game. SWCC led 4-0 after the first inning and the Bears' five-run rally in the third gave them a 5-4 lead. Both teams scored a run in the seventh inning.

Boever led DMACC at the plate with a pair of base hits and two RBIs. Kaufman and freshmen Kaden Frommelt of Marion and Sam Hesselmann of Johnston had one hit apiece and each drove in one run.

Sophomore J.C. Dermody of Council Bluffs started on the mound for the Bears and went two innings, allowing four runs on three hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Sophomore Jake Porter of Winterset went three innings and got the win in his first decision of the season. He held the Spartans hitless, struck out five and walked one. Sophomore Vinny Mauro of Norwalk threw an inning and a third, allowing one run on one hit with one strikeout and sophomore Jai Jensen of Clinton threw two-thirds of an inning and earned his second save of the season. He retired both batters he faced.

SWCC scored seven runs in the third inning and one each in the fifth and sixth innings in winning the game on May 6. DMACC tallied single runs in the fifth and sixth innings and trailed 9-2 before scoring four times in the seventh.

Sophomore Tomas Lee of Minnetonka, Minn., led the Bears at the plate with three hits including a double and freshman Colin Driscoll of Waukee had a pair of doubles. Frommelt accounted for one DMACC run with a home run.

Sophomore Kaleb Gengler of Sioux City pitched the first two and a third innings for the Bears and fell to 1-3 with the loss. He allowed six runs on five hits, struck out three and walked three. Freshman Bobby Uthe of Ames threw two-thirds of an inning and allowed one run on one hit with one strikeout and sophomore Jaqson Tejada of Marion gave up one run on two hits with three strikeouts and three walks in an inning and two-thirds. Sophomore Thomas King of West Des Moines went an inning and a third, allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout and sophomore Zach Kain of Urbandale pitched two innings. He allowed one hit, struck out three and walked one.

The DMACC baseball team will be the No. 5 seed in the 2024 Region 11 Division II Baseball Championship May 9 to 12 at Fort Dodge. The Bears will face fourth-seeded Northeast (Neb.) Community College (NECC) in a first-round game at 11 a.m. on May 9. NECC is 34-22 this season with two wins in three games against DMACC. The two teams split a doubleheader April 4 at Norfolk, Neb., and NECC came away with a 5-4 win in a game April 17 at the DMACC baseball diamond.

The championship game in the double-elimination tournament is set for 11a.m. on May 12. A second championship game, if necessary, would be played at 2:30 p.m. also on May 12.