A depleted Marshalltown Community College softball team has had a tough time piling up runs recently.
The Tigers stopped DMACC from putting enough on the board to take a split Wednesday in their home opener at the MGSA Softball Complex.
MCC (13-7, 4-4) came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory in the opener, but were shut out in the nightcap, a 2-0 loss.
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T-R PHOTO BY TRAVIS HINES
Ashley Madsen of DMACC slides into third base ahead of the throw to Erica White of Marshalltown Community College during Wednesday’s conference softball doubleheader in Marshalltown. The Tigers split in their first home action of the season, winning the first game 3-2 before the Bears took the finale 2-0.
Freshman hurler Stacy Roggentein pitched a combined 10 innings on the day, allowing just six hits and one earned run.
"She's doing really well, picking up a lot of the slack and really working hard," said MCC head coach Jeff Lamb, whose team continues to work its way back to full strength after a car accident in Oklahoma sent most of the players to the hospital and cost a pair their season.
"She looks at me every day and says, 'I can go two.' We're trying to keep her fresh as much as possible. She's doing outstanding."
Roggentein relieved Marisa Basham in the fifth inning of the opener, inheriting a 2-1 deficit.
Hally Lenzine opened the sixth inning with a double and was driven home by a single from Megan Bolten.
The sophomore Bolten adeptly moved up to second on the play, then tagged up to move over to third and later scored the eventual game-winning run on a wild pich from DMACC's Britney Lee.
"Our baseruninng has been really good," noted Lamb. "Bolten, she's obviously not the fastest kid, but she knows how to run the bases."
The Bears (12-7, 3-3) took advantage of three MCC errors in the first inning of game two to scratch across an early run.
The Tigers committed five errors in the nightcap.
"If they're making miscues, it's usually because they're being aggressive on it and I never am disappointed in that," Lamb said.
Dena Martin went 4-for-4 with a double and two stolen bases in game two, but MCC was unable to push a run across, stranding 12 runners on base.
"We need to hit a little bit more in situations. I think for the most part we do that," said Lamb, "it's just today we weren't quite on, and we didn't quite have everybody on the same page."
Outside of a two-game, 25-run outburst over the weekend, the Tigers have struggled to score in bunches.
They've scored 10 runs in the last eight games excluding the back-to-back slugfest.
"With everything right now, it's kind of like they've got enough in them to give it all for one game," Lamb said, "then we've kind of been complacent with what we've been able to do because we just don't have the players to go around and do everything you need."
Bolten had three hits and an RBI on the day while Basham added a double and an RBI for MCC. Molly Underwood had a three-hit day with one double.
The Bears' Carlee Grunder had four hits on the afternoon and a home run in the nightcap that gave DMACC a late insurance run.
Roggentein went 1-1 on the day in her 10 innings of work while DMACC's Mari Silliman won game two. Lee lost her start in game one, but picked up the save in the nightcap.
The Tigers will play another home set Saturday against NIACC. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.