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Mason City 10, Fort Dodge 3

Mason City 004 500 1 - 10 11 0

Fort Dodge 010 110 0 - 3 8 1

Jon Chapman and Robert Swenson. Jerry Ellendson, Drew Arends (4), Anthony Latta (5), Jake Rautanen (7) and Andy Smith. 2B - MC: Alex Ausenhus; 2B - FD: Tim Kayser; 3B - FD: Eddy Diosdado; HR - MC: Lee Gealow (2), Swenson, Tyler Mason.

Fort Dodge 6, Mason City 1

Mason City 000 010 0 - 1 4 2

Fort Dodge 100 041 x - 6 8 2

Brad Lombard, Ricky Sandquist (7) and Joe Hora. Gealow, Spencer Maroo (6) and Nick Stoyles. 2B - FD: Will Kenny, Diosdado; 2B - MC: Brandon Platts.

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Mason City likely walked away from Thursday's doubleheader split with Fort Dodge thinking it had faced two completely different teams.

After coming out flat in the opening game, the Dodgers picked up the intensity level in the nightcap to salvage a split in the rivalry doubleheader between CIML Iowa frontrunners at Ed McNeil Field.

The Mohawks (12-6 overall, 6-2 in the league) pounded four home runs and won the first contest by a final of 10-6, but Fort Dodge (12-7 overall, 7-1 in conference) returned the favor and earned a 6-1 victory to close out the evening.

"They were just better than us in the first game," said FDSH head coach Matt Elsbecker. "I think we battled back well in the second and were able to show what we were made of.

"After the first loss, it was extremely important for us to change our attitude and earn a split against a conference opponent."

Fort Dodge struck first in the opener with a run in the second inning. Courtesy runner Mark Wilson was able to take third base on a wild pitch, and a grounder by Tanner Beck brought the run across the plate.

It didn't take long for Mason City to respond, however, with a slew of home runs in the next two frames. The Mohawks used four-run and five-run innings in the third and fourth, respectively, to take a big advantage in the blink of an eye.

Lee Gealow hits a grand slam in the fourth inning after three Mohawk runners were able to reach by drawing walks. In the fourth, Robert Swenson and Tyler Mason went deep in back-to-back fashion to push the momentum clearly in favor of the visitors.

Andy Smith was 3-for-3 with an RBI, and Ricky Sandquist also drove in a run for FDSH in the loss.

Sophomore hurler Brad Lombard was backed by both solid defense and offense in the bounceback nightcap.

"We needed to have an aggressive attitude, and we got that killer instinct back," said Elsbecker. "We did a lot of things better in the second game and played pretty solid ball for the most part."

The Dodgers struck first again with a run in the bottom of the opening inning. Eddy Diosdado drew a walk and stole second, and Sandquist roped an RBI single.

Between the second and fourth frames, Fort Dodge and Mason City were locked into a pitchers battle. Lombard pitched his way out of a bases loaded situation in the third to keep the 1-0 lead intact.

Fort Dodge's offense broke through in the fifth. Jake Rautanen singled, Wilson reached first on a wild pitch and Diosdado was able to get on base by drawing an intentional walk. Sandquist then drove in a run, and Ellendson hit a line drive to net two more RBI.

"Jerry's hit in the fifth was the biggest of the day for us," said Elsbecker. "Our offense was fairly stagnant, but we got things going finally toward the end."

Diosdado drove Rautanen home in the sixth inning for the sixth and final run.

Lombard nearly made it a complete game, but Sandquist took the mound to get the game's final two outs. Lombard allowed just four hits and struck out five.

"It was great to have Brad earn that win win. (Joe) Hora also did a great job coming in and catching for us - we couldn't have asked for more from him," said Elsbecker. "Getting a split wasn't the worst thing that could happen, but we still need to make a lot of progress."

Fort Dodge will host defending 4A state champion Johnston at Ed McNeil Field today. Start time is set for 4 p.m.

Contact Brady Johnson at (515) 573-2141 or by e-mail at sports@messengernews.net