Tigers head to first-ever Northern District Tournament
After advancing out of the Region XI Division I Baseball Tournament for the first time in program history, the Marshalltown Community College baseball team will appear in its first-ever Northern District Baseball Tournament May 16-18.
2014 NJCAA Northern District Tournament Home Page
After advancing out of the Region XI Division I Baseball Tournament for the first time in program history, the Marshalltown Community College baseball team will appear in its first-ever Northern District Baseball Tournament May 16-18. The Tigers open up the four-team, double-elimination tournament at 11:00 AM on Friday against South Suburban College (IL) at Doc Ross Field on the Iowa Western Community College campus
The Tigers finished as runners-up at the Region XI Tournament behind regional champion Iowa Western. The host for the Northern District, comprised of Regions XI, IV, and XXIV, rotates every three years, with the host team sending two teams while the other two regions send its tournament champion. Along with the two Region XI teams, and South Suburban of Region IV, Wabash Valley College of Region XXIV make up this year's tournament field.
The Tigers finished in second at last weekend's regional tournament following a fortunate turn of events that allowed MCC to move one step closer to the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, CO. Daryl Blaskovich (Brentwood Bay, BC/Lambrick Park) and Ty Russell (Victoria, BC/Lambrick Park) combined for 10 hits in the tournament, scoring a total of nine runs and driving in seven more.
The Tigers finished second at the Region XI Tournament for the second consecutive year, and third time in their last four trips to the playoff.
South Suburban comes out of Region IV after winning all three of its games at last week's tournament. The Bulldogs are 36-19 on the year and received votes in this week's NJCAA Division I Poll. Seven players are currently batting over .330 on the year, including two that have eclipsed the .400 mark, led by Stefano Belmonte's .430 clip.
Wabash Valley is currently ranked 12th in the latest national rankings after winning the Region XXIV Tournament. The Warriors top all Division I programs in runs scored and on-base percentage and rank in the top 15 in four other categories. Tim Berry leads Wabash Valley with a .403 batting average and 13 home runs on the year. Zach Lewis holds a 1.84 earned run average with an unblemished 10-0 mark on the year.
Iowa Western clinched its 10th consecutive Region XI Tournament over the weekend and jumped up to No. 3 in the latest NJCAA rankings. The Reivers have won four of the last five Northern District Tournaments and won the NJCAA National Championship in 2012 and 2010.
Live coverage, including stats and video, will be provided throughout the entire tournament.
