Waterloo, Ia. – Playing more like favorites than a team that finished in the middle of its conference, the Iowa Wesleyan College baseball team capped a dominating two-day display by knocking off third-seeded Grand View College 12-7 to win the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament title game late Friday night at Riverfront Stadium.

A seven-run second inning was the big difference as the Tigers defeated the Vikings in the tourney championship for the second straight year. IWC is now headed to the NAIA Region VII Tournament in Joliet, Ill. May 6-9, the school's third straight trip to regionals.

Jose Nunez (Sr.-Carolina, Puerto Rico) drove in three runs in the game, while Carlos Coleman (Sr.-Hammond, La.) drove in two, giving IWC the lead for good with a two-run single in the second inning. Five different players drove in runs in the second inning, and for the game the Tigers piled up 14 hits.

Hector Acevedo (Jr.-Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) pitched seven innings and allowed three runs for the win. Grand View (24-18 overall) posed its most serious threat in the eighth, scoring three times to cut the lead to 11-6 and putting runners at second and third with one out, but Curt Barnes (Jr.-Lone Tree, Iowa) came on to put out the fire, then finished the ninth to close out the game.

The Tigers outscored their opponents 48-8 in three games over two days in the tourney, with the 12 runs against Grand View representing the team's low mark. To get to the championship game, IWC defeated third-seeded Viterbo University 20-0 in seven innings in the second semifinal game of the day.

The Tigers scored 14 runs in the top of the seventh inning to break the game wide open. Frany Cruz (Jr.-Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) had a two-run single and a three-run home run in the inning in which 17 players batted for IWC.

Edwin Jimenez (Jr.-Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Kelvin Davila (Jr.-Carolina, Puerto Rico) both had four hits in the game. Davila hit a solo homer in the third inning to open the game's scoring and added a pair of RBI singles in the seventh. Justin DeVoe (Jr.-Newton, Iowa) made sure IWC was in good shape even without the scoring outburst, allowing just two hits and striking out seven for the complete game shutout win.

IWC joins William Penn University and St. Ambrose University as MCC representatives in the Region VII tourney. The Tigers will find out their pairing early next week and open play Tuesday. The tourney will take place at Silver Cross Park in Joliet and will be hosted by the University of St. Francis.

For more information regarding the IWC baseball program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu aglatczak@iwc.edu aglatczak@iwc.edu aglatczak@iwc.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.