No. 12 NIACC completes sweep of Iowa Lakes
By JEREMY KOENIGS, Of The Globe Gazette
MASON CITY — Jonathan Cruz got the pitch he wanted on Sunday.
The NIACC sophomore deposited the 10th pitch in a long battle against Iowa Lakes pitcher Mitch Ebben well beyond the fence in right field for a walk-off grand slam as the No. 12 (NJCAA Division II) Trojans swept the Lakers 8-4 in 10 innings after winning the opener 6-3 in ICCAC action at Roosevelt Field.
"I was just thankful that I got a good pitch to hit," Cruz said. "I knew if I got a good pitch that I could drive it."
NIACC coach Travis Hergert, whose team improved to 34-12 overall and 19-5 in the ICCAC, was proud of how Cruz handled himself with the bases loaded.
"He's been huge for us the last few years," Hergert said. "He had a pretty even-keel approach. He may not be big in stature but he came up big for us."
The walk-off home run capped a 3-hit game for Cruz, who wasn't happy with his approach at the plate in the opener for the Trojans.
"I struggled in the first game hitting the ball," Cruz said. "In the second game I was able to hit the ball all over the field. I was a lot better with my approach."
After a solo home run by Keoni Mortenson put Iowa Lakes (12-27, 3-21) in front 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning, NIACC plated two runs in the fifth and turned five hits into two runs in the sixth, staking Dusty Harrill to a 4-1 lead.
Harrill allowed five hits in seven innings of work, striking out 13 for the Trojans.
"He really commanded the zone really well and made pitches when he needed to," Hergert said. "That's been big for Dusty. He's pitching well in that No. 4 spot for us and that's going to be big in the postseason. That's three great starts in a row by him."
Harrill's start followed an 8-strikeout performance by Tony Grabowske on the mound for NIACC in the opener.
After earning the save in relief of Grabowske in the opener, Danny Beizer allowed a two-run single off the bat of Mikey Adams as Iowa Lakes pulled to within 4-3 in the top of the eighth.
The Lakers tied the game in the top of the ninth on an infield single by Trent Brosdahl but NIACC was able to prevent Iowa Lakes from taking the lead with Cruz right in the middle of the action.
Cruz caught the throw from catcher Austin LaDoux, tagging out Brosdahl at second on an attempted double steal before firing to LaDoux at the plate to get Adrian Perez trying to score from third to end the half inning.
"I can't even describe it," Cruz said. "It was just a crazy play."
Hergert, too, had trouble describing the play.
"That was an amazing play by Jonathan Cruz on the double steal," Hergert said. "He applied the tag and then made a great throw home to keep the game tied."
NIACC left two runners on in the bottom of the ninth inning and Kellen Reed worked his way around a 2-out rally by Iowa Lakes in the top of the 10th to help set up the heroics by Cruz in the bottom of the inning
"Kellen Reed did a great job in the 10th and I'm happy with how we stuck with it offensively in the bottom of the inning. We just found a way to get guys on and Cruz was able to get it done."
The two victories kept NIACC in the hunt for the ICCAC title as the Trojans sit behind No. 13 (NJCAA Division II) Kirkwood (18-4) and are tied with No. 18 Southwestern (19-5).
"We put ourselves in a position to win the conference title coming into the last weekend," Hergert said. "These two close games are exactly what it's going to be like in the regional tournament."
NIACC 6, IOWA LAKES 3
Iowa Lakes 000 210 0 – 3 5 1
NIACC 200 022 x – 6 7 2
Hunter Porterfield (7K, 6BB), Mitch Ebben (6) (2K, 0BB) and Trent Brosdahl. Tony Grabowske (8K, 4BB), Danny Beizer (6) (1K, 0BB) and Blake Whitecotton. W – Grabowske. L – Porterfield. SV – Beizer. HR – Fancisco Ogando (IL), Malique Ziegler (N), Robbie Glendinning (N), Brandon Michie (N). 2B – Seth Sullwood (IL). Multiple RBIs – Glendinning (N) 2.
NIACC 8, IOWA LAKES 4 (10)
Iowa Lakes 000 010 021 0 – 4 11 3
NIACC 000 022 000 4 – 8 11 2
Mitch Sparks (6K, 0BB, 2HBP), Luke Halbeck (6) (2K, 0BB), Ebben (8) (1K, 5BB) and Brosdahl. Dusty Harrill (13K, 1BB), Tyler Jacobsen (8) (2K, 0BB), Beizer (8) (1K, 0BB, 1HBP), Kellen Reed (10) (1K, 1BB) and Austin LaDoux. W – Reed. L – Ebben. HR – Keoni Mortenson (IL), Glendinning, Jonathan Cruz (N). 2B – Dominic Berlin (IL), Sullwood, Mikey Adams (IL), Matt Schwarz (N). Multiple hits – Brosdahl 2, Berlin 2, Sullwood 2, Adams 2, Cruz 3, Connor Enochs (N) 2, Schwarz 2. Multiple RBIs – Adams 2, Cruz 4.
