NIACC completes sweep of No. 11 Kirkwood
CEDAR RAPIDS - The NIACC baseball team completed a three-game sweep of No. 11 Kirkwood on Wednesday on a chilly and windy day on the Kirkwood campus.
NIACC used two big innings to outslug Kirkwood 21-17. The Trojans scored nine runs in the second inning and plated seven runs in the sixth frame.
NIACC (14-10 overall, 4-5 in the ICCAC) had swept the Eagles 13-2 and 20-12 on March 30 in Mason City.
Wednesday's victory by NIACC was its highest scoring ICCAC game by both teams (38 runs) since the Trojans topped Ellsworth 17-16 (33 runs) in the second game of a doubleheader on March 4, 2018.
NIACC pounded out 20 hits to score its 21 runs in Wednesday's slugfest. The Trojans also collected 20 hits in their 20-12 win over the Eagles on March 30.
NIACC's Ike Mezzenga was 4 for 6 with three RBIs. Gunnar Hansen was 3 for 6 and Cayden Nicoletto was 3 for 6 with three RBIs.
Also for the Trojans, Cody Kelly, Cole Fuecker, Bennett McCollow and Kade Peloquin all collected two hits each. Kelly and Fuecker both homered for the Trojans.
Kelly leads the team with 10 home runs, including four against Kirkwood. Fuecker's home run was his fourth of the season and sixth of his career.
In the three-game series against Kirkwood, McCollow was 7 for 10 with five home runs, one double, three walks, 14 RBIs and eight runs scored.
Cole Hupke (2-2) gained the win in relief for the Trojans. Hupke, who logged five innings with a season-high nine strikeouts, allowed two earned runs before giving way to Ryan Lambert in the ninth inning.
Lambert pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts as the Trojans claimed the four-run victory.
NIACC returns to action Saturday and Sunday at home against Southwestern in a four-game series. The first game on Saturday is slated for 1 p.m. at Roosevelt Field.
