Pirates Baseball opened their home slate of games on Thursday with a victory over 20^th ranked Iowa Central Community College 9-2.  This marked the Pirates second win over a ranked opponent so far this season, with the other being a road victory over 8^th ranked NOC-Enid.  The win pushes NCMC's record to 5-4 ahead of their spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, SC.

Pirates pitching dominated the day.  Keven Franco got the start and tossed a strong 4 innings, allowing no runs and striking out 4.  He lowered his season ERA to a superb 1.35.  Jay Greco, the Pirates top relief arm so far this season, pitched the remaining 5 innings allowing just 2 unearned runs to get the win.  He is now 2-1 for the season with a 2.87 ERA.

At the plate, the Pirates got to the Iowa Central starting pitcher early in the game.  NCMC pushed 4 runs across in the first inning, aided by some Triton defensive miscues.  In the 3^rd inning, NCMC tacked on another pair of runs and held the 6-0 advantage into the 8^th inning.  In that frame, ICCC plated their two unearned runs.  NCMC answered back nicely in the bottom of the inning, getting their final three tallies.

Tanner Sears knocked a solo homerun in the win, his first of the season.  The Pirates grinded out 7 hits in the game and stole 2 bases.  They were also the beneficiaries of 5 ICCC errors.

The team leaves for Myrtle Beach, SC on Saturday for their annual spring trip.