The Bobcats struggled to hit in the first game of the CIML Iowa Conference twinbill against the Maroons, falling 7-1 in game one where they struggled to hit anything Dowling pitcher Annie Thomas threw at them, then losing the second game, 13-4, largely due to their inability to score runners on base.

MHS senior McKaylee Dawson showed well in her final game on the home diamond, striking out a career-high eight batters — the most by any Bobcat pitcher since 2015 — and allowing 10 hits and five earned runs in the game one loss.

Bobcats head coach Jim Palmer said that’s the kind of outing his team needs to take advantage of.

“I loved that, I would take that every night from that young lady,” Palmer said. “She has worked so hard, I am so proud of where she’s at. Right now she is really feeling good, she was spinning that ball well tonight.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown senior McKaylee Dawson winds up for a pitch in the first game of the Bobcats' doubleheader against Dowling Catholic on Monday. Dawson had a career-high eight strikeouts in the first game.

The issues for game one weren’t on the mound for Marshalltown (2-31, 0-20), it all rested at the plate. After starting the game off with a single by Regan Mazour and an RBI single by McKenna Major to go up 1-0 in the first inning, the Bobcats failed to reach base with any of the next 19 batters.

Thomas went all seven innings for the Maroons (17-16, 9-7), allowing those two hits and the lone run while striking out three.

Game two saw much better hitting from MHS, as three girls (Alyvia Chadderdon, Avery Mull and Kyra Feldman) each had two hits apiece, compared to just the two hits as a team in game one.

Where the offense picked up, the defense faltered a bit, and the Bobcats stranded nine runners on base, which didn’t help their cause.

“We did have some good hits during that second game, we just left more runners stranded on base,” Palmer said. “I thought Avery did a really nice job, kept us in the game for a long time, I think she just made a couple mistakes through there.”

Mull got the start, allowing 11 hits and eight earned runs in five innings of work.

Nicole Bellis had two home runs on the night for Dowling, a three-run shot in the seventh inning of both games. In the second game alone, the Maroons had seven extra-base hits, and Palmer said no matter how you attack it, the Dowling lineup is just dangerous.

“It’s just so tough with Dowling, they are so strong through the lineup,” he said. “Their top five hitters all have the power to go yard, so it’s tough to pitch around them and try to get through everything.”

Mull wasn’t the only newer face getting some action on the varsity level, as fellow eighth-grader Autumn Finch played first base for the second game, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a big two-run RBI single in the third inning that put the Bobcats on the board.

“I have seen so much more energy right now, we have called up a few young players and they are really starting to produce for us,” Palmer said. “Avery Mull is doing a fine job, she was 2-for-3 in that last game and that speaks volumes for an eighth-grader coming in. Autumn Finch played first base coming in, she’s a big girl and stretches out well. She will be a wonderful first baseman for us in the future.”

Now that the regular season is at an end, Marshalltown can now set its focus on its first-round regional matchup against Waterloo West. The Wahawks beat the Bobcats the last time they faced off, 8-6, during the Dave Lee Invitational hosted by BCLUW, but Palmer said he thinks things will go differently this time around.

“We played them in Conrad and yes they got us, but they are very beatable for us,” he said. “We just have to be ready to go and really be mentally into the game so we can play and stay strong.”

The 5A Region 5 tournament will begin with that game between Marshalltown and Waterloo West, starting at 7 p.m. in Waterloo.

At Marshalltown

Game One

Dowling Catholic 7,

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON – Marshalltown senior Regan Mazour, left, slides into home base for a score in game two of a CIML Iowa Conference doubleheader against Dowling Catholic on Monday.

Marshalltown 1

DC 001 030 3 — 7 10 0

MHS 100 000 0 — 1 2 2

Annie Thomas and Emma Gipple; McKaylee Dawson and Kyrah Feldman. WP–Thomas (6-3). LP–Dawson (0-14). 2B–DC: Mia Cataldo. HR–DC: Nicole Bellis (4). LOB–DC 5, MHS 1.

Game Two

Dowling Catholic 13, Marshalltown 4

DC 120 313 3 — 13 13 0

MHS 002 110 0 — 4 9 2

Karley Swesey, Alyssa Last (3) and Emma Gipple; Avery Mull, Kailee Pollard (6) and Kyra Feldman. WP–Swesey (5-6). LP–Mull (0-3). 2B–DC: Kate Moses 3, Nicole Bellis, McKenna Moses, Abby Hughes. HR–DC: Bellis (5). LOB–DC 7, MHS 9.

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