Payback delivered
Bobcats back on track with sweep of ninth-ranked Mason CityBy MARK PAWLAK
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Fourteen at-bats and one run.
The trip to Mason City is already a long one and after Marshalltown scored one run combined to be swept in a doubleheader June 15 the trip must have seemed even longer.
Now the Mohawks will be experiencing the feeling of the long ride home.
The Bobcat bats broke out Thursday for a CIML Iowa Conference baseball sweep of ninth-ranked Mason City 10-2 and 10-4.
"When we went to Mason City they really bloodied us up," said Marshalltown head coach Steve Hanson. "We really struggled up there."
The Bobcats (18-11, 7-9) scored a combined 20 runs on the night to bump the Mohawks out of a tie for the conference lead. Fort Dodge swept Waukee Thursday and now owns a two-game lead on Mason City.
"That was one of our main focuses coming in. We knew regardless of how well we pitched it, we're going to have to get more than a run," Hanson said. "We were really disappointed with our offensive showing up there but tonight we came back from a deficit early in game one and just kept piling it on."
Marshalltown's pitchers also did their part in ending a three-game losing streak.
Jimmy Six struck out 15 in his complete game to start the night, while Jordan Alley fanned eight in the finale.
"Jimmy Six was outstanding and Jordan Alley was very good as well," Hanson said. "They are a great one-two punch for us."
Mason City (22-9, 11-5) touched up Six for two runs in the top of the first but got little more the rest of the game.
Alex Ausenhus led off with a double, Jacob Peter followed with an infield single and Ryan Goetzinger drove them in with a double to left-center.
Half of the Mohawks' six hits for the contest came in the first against Six. The Bobcat lefty won his fifth straight decision to move his season record to 6-3.
Marshalltown scored three in the second, two in the third, two in the fourth and three more in the sixth in support of Six, who matched his season-high with his 15 strikeouts.
"The pleasing thing was that we would score a couple, but then we would get a couple more, couple more and a couple more," Hanson said. "We put together a lot of good innings instead of just one big inning. It was encouraging to see the offense be more consistent."
Six helped his cause with a home run, while Nick Thimesch and Jarred Carlson both had three hits.
Alley struck out eight in six innings of work, allowing four runs on six hits in the finale to move to 5-0 for the year.
Thimesch again went 3-for-4 and stole three bases to end with five stolen bases for the night. Carlson had two hits and two RBIs with a double.
The wins for Marshalltown took added importance for its postseason seeding.
"These are the last two games that we played before the teams are seeded so we knew we had to win to have a chance to have a home game," Hanson said.
The Bobcats travel to Ames Monday.
