T-R PHOTO BY ANNE VANCE • Marshalltown senior Nate Vance delivers to the plate against Class 4A No. 6 Waukee during the second game of Friday’s doubleheader at Waukee. Vance and Tate Kuehner combined on a two-hit shutout as the Bobcats won the second game 6-0.

WAUKEE — The Marshalltown baseball team faced its toughest challenge of the young season on Friday when it hit the road to take on Class 4A No. 6 Waukee for a doubleheader.

The Warriors took game one off the Bobcats, 11-1 in six innings, but MHS got revenge in game two with a 6-0 shutout.

Pitchers Nate Vance and Tate Kuehner combined to allow just four hits to Waukee (1-1) in the second game, with Vance throwing the first three innings and allowing three hits while walking one and striking out two and Kuehner finishing the final four innings with one hit and seven strikeouts.

“In game two we threw more strikes and made some nice defensive plays,” Bobcats head coach Steve Hanson said. “Nate Vance and Tate Kuehner both threw the ball very well.”

The great showing on the mound was buoyed by a strong showing at the plate, with Marshalltown (4-1) recording six hits for its six runs.

Dru Dobbins went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Vance also went 2-for-3 and crossed the plate three times.

“We also got some timely hitting and were able to add on, which is critical when you’re playing a good team,” Hanson said.

Game one was less lopsided than the score would show. Through the first three innings Waukee only owned a 3-1 lead, but the Warriors got loose for six runs in the fourth inning, which Hanson said was not all on Lucas Duff, who got the start on the mound.

“Lucas Duff did a nice job in game one into the fourth inning when our defense broke down and we didn’t throw enough strikes,” he said. “Those two elements tend to go hand-in-hand. When one of them is missing the other is normally bad as well.”

Duff would go 3 2/3 innings in the loss, giving up seven hits and eight runs, though only five were earned. Dobbins threw the next 1/3 inning with three hits, two runs and two walks, while Blake Trowbridge allowed one hit and walked three in one inning of work.

At the plate in game one, Vance had the best line with a 1-for-2 mark with a run scored, while Dobbins went 1-for-3 and Wade Canaday finished 1-for-2.

The Bobcats finished their first week with four wins and a loss, though the road doesn’t get any easier as the season rolls along.

“Going 4-1 in the first week is a good start given all the guys we got on the field and off the mound,” Hanson said. “Now we enter another tough segment of the schedule where we play six games in three days. It will be all hands on deck once again but we’ll enjoy this for the weekend and get our seniors graduated.

“Then it’s back to work on Memorial Day. It will be nice to get off the bus and finally play at home.”

Marshalltown hosts its home opener on Monday when it welcomes in Cedar Rapids Kennedy for a single game, starting at 3 p.m.