Canaday connected for a pair of home runs to help his own cause on the mound, where the junior right-handed tossed a two-hit shutout to lead the Marshalltown baseball team to an 11-0, five-inning rout of Cedar Rapids Kennedy in their annual Memorial Day meeting.

The Bobcats (5-1) beat the Cougars (1-3) for the first time since 2009, thanks in no small part to Canaday’s contributions on the mound and in the batter’s box. Canaday struck out nine, walked two and allowed just two hits in his first start of the young season. He backed himself into a corner in the top of the fifth inning with a pair of walks to start the frame, but later escaped a bases-loaded jam by catching an infield pop-up to end the game.

It was the only flaw in an otherwise dominant performance for Canaday, who started 13 of 19 batters he faced with a first-pitch strike and got error-free defense behind him.

“He essentially made his own good for four innings, then he made his own issues in the fifth,” said MHS head coach Steve Hanson. “It’s a very good first start of the year and good to get a complete game. He threw it well, did a good job mixing pitches.”

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE • Marshalltown’s Wade Canaday (31) congratulates teammate Dylan Eygabroad (18) after scoring a run during the second inning of Monday’s game against Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The Bobcats won 11-0 in five innings.

The Bobcats ended their eight-game losing streak in the series by scoring in each of their four at-bats. Kennedy starter Sam Mead (0-1) hindered his own effort on the mound by hitting Nate Vance and Kody Ricken and walking Tate Kuehner in the bottom of the first, before Luke Appel delivered a two-run, two-out single to give MHS a 3-0 lead.

Dru Dobbins lashed a two-run, two-out double to plate Dylan Eygabroad and Kuehner in the second, and Canaday’s first varsity home run greeted Mead in the third. Marshalltown continued to take advantage of Mead’s offerings, as singles by Appel and Joseph Harris preceded Eygabroad’s two-run double down the left-field line. Kuehner’s sacrifice fly to center field plated Eygabroad as the Bobcats busted out to a 9-0 lead through three innings.

Canaday retired the side in order in the top of the fourth, and Kody Ricken greeted Kennedy reliever Austin Burkhart with a single to left that skipped through the left-fielder’s legs. His courtesy runner Wyatt Himes watched from third base as Canaday connected again, this time with a two-run shot to left that boosted the Bobcats to an 11-0 advantage.

“He had some good at-bats,” Hanson said of Canaday’s two-homer game. “Whatever plan you take to the plate, if you can execute that plan generally you’re going to have more success than if you start freelancing. We had some guys freelancing today — Canaday hits a home run, everybody wants to hit a home run — but you have to stay within yourself and you have to stay within your plan.”

The Bobcats’ plan of attack yielded nine hits over four innings, with Canaday, Appel and Harris connecting for two apiece. Nate Vance walked twice, had two stolen bases and scored the first run of the game on an errant pickoff attempt, while Kuehner scored twice without registering an official at-bat.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE • The ball gets away from Cedar Rapids Kennedy first baseman Graham Woods as Marshalltown’s Tate Kuehner dives back safely on a pickoff attempt during the first inning of Monday’s game at MHS. Nate Vance scored a run for the Bobcats on the errant throw.

Canaday came away with the complete-game performance, needing only 76 pitches to go the distance. It’s a useful statistic when you consider the back-to-back home doubleheaders awaiting MHS with tonight’s twinbill against Fort Dodge and Wednedsay’s games against West Des Moines Valley.

“It’s the first game of the week, it’s a win, that’s a great way to start the week,” said Hanson. “For Wade Canaday to take the ball and go complete game, that sure helps us out for later in the week with the pitch count thing. Had we had to expend a guy or two in this game, you don’t know how that affects the rest of the week, but we were able to keep our guys on solid rest and that’s a great win simply because it positions us now for a better end of the week.

“It’s a good start and we can enjoy it for about 15 hours, then we’ve got to get back at it with a very good Fort Dodge team.”

Marshalltown 11, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 0, 5 innings

At Marshalltown

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

CRK 000 00 — 0 2 6

MHS 324 2X — 11 9 0

Sam Mead, Austin Burkhart (4) and Lane Thole; Wade Canaday and Kody Ricken. W–Canaday (2-0). L–Mead (0-1). 2B–CRK: Graham Woods; MHS: Dru Dobbins, Dylan Eygabroad. HR–MHS: Canaday 2 (2). LOB–CRK 4, MHS 5.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE