Marshalltown, Iowa -- Indian Hills scored 37 runs in the first two games and then got a superb pitching performance from Rodny Valdes in taking four games from Marshalltown CC over the weekend. The Falcons clubbed the Tigers, 19-8 and 18-1, on Saturday with sophomore Justin King driving in 12 runs -- six in each contest. Sunday's games were lower-scoring, but with the same results: two IHCC victories. The Falcons held off a late MCC rally to win 5-4, then rode Valdes' one-hit shutout to close out the sweep, winning 5-0.
King slammed a pair of homers in game one and added another blast in the second game, his dozen RBIs on the day giving him 58 for the year. Indian Hills actually trailed 4-2 after two innings and 7-6 after four before taking the lead with a two-run 5th and then finishing off MCC with a nine-run 6th inning. King had plenty of help offensively with Ryan Humeniuk, Zachary Fascia and Christian Pena all slugging home runs. Humeniuk, Pena and Jameson Hart had three-RBI games, Fascia scored four times, and King, Humeniuk, and Pena each scored three runs. Caleb Miley gave the Falcons four innings of relief and got the pitching victory, upping his record to 5-2.
The second game saw Fascia drive in three runs and Humeniuk, Jake Kristensen and Declan Buckle two apiece. King, Fascia, Pena and Kristensen provided three hits each. DJ DePiero allowed only a first-inning homer in winning his team-leading 7th game. The lefty permitted only four hits and struck out six. The Falcons peppered five MCC pitchers with 18 hits that matched their run total.
In Sunday's opener, the score was tied 2-2 going into the 6th when IHCC tallied three runs. Marshalltown answered with single runs in the 6th and 7th, before Hunter Capps came out of the IHCC bullpen to save the win. Starting pitcher Oracio DeLeon went five innings, Jordan Bahnuk pitched the 6th and Capps relieved Fascia after he walked four straight batters to start the 7th. Bahnuk earned the win. Hart and Will Zimmerman had a pair of hits for Indian Hills. Hart homered, Zimmerman tripled and Pena doubled.
Valdes polished off the sweep with his best pitching effort of the spring. He faced three batters over the minimum in a one-hitter and had five Ks. King ended the weekend the same way he started it with two hits and two runs scored. Fascia knocked out three hits and drove in three of the five IHCC runs. Indian Hills pushed across a run in the 1st and added four more in the 3rd.
The four wins bring a close to the regular season for the Falcons, who will take a 34-20 record and the number-two seed into the Region XI postseason tournament. Their first oponent there will be Marshalltown, at 2:00 on Friday afternoon at Pat Daugherty Field.