CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- The Ellsworth Panthers were unable to hold on to leads in both games of a Tuesday doubleheader at Kirkwood CC and wound up losing to the Eagles, 10-5 and 18-8.  

ECC found itself leading 5-0 after an inning and a half in the opener as Nick Chasey followed an Isaac Boley sacrifice fly with a grand slam home run in the 2nd inning.  Chasey's bomb scored Jose Valentine, JT Kostenbauer and Fabian Dumey.  But the Panthers were blanked after that as Kirkwood first tied the score at 5-all in the 3rd, then added 5 more runs in the 4th.  Edwin De Los Santos and Simon Victoriano were charged with all 10 of the KCC runs before Kenyon Santos came on to get the final 2 outs in the 6th inning.

A 6-run 3rd inning enabled Ellsworth to go ahead 7-5 in game two.  Kirkwood responded with a vengeance, scoring 11 runs in their final 2 at-bats to finish the sweep.  ECC had a 14-hit attack that included 3 hits by Bryce Hall, 2 by Elio Narvaez, Kostenbauer and Chasey and safeties from Valentine, Javier Melendez, Dumey, Edgar Andujar and Sergio Natera.  Hall and Kostenbauer both scored 2 runs and Hall and Narvaez each knocked in 2.  Gavin Busby led 4 ECC pitchers to the mound and lasted 5 2/3 innings.  He was followed by Santos, Jose Torres and Daviel Camacho.

The Panthers will face off against DMACC in a 3-game series in Boone this Friday and Saturday.