SOUTH HOLLAND, IL – Impossible? Don't tell these guys that.
For the second consecutive weekend, with their collective backs against the wall, facing a top-five-ranked opponent in a post-season elimination series needing to defeat said foe, not once, but twice in the same day, the Warriors got it done.
This time, the Goliath that was slayed was the nation's top-ranked team in the form of Wabash Valley (IL). And just like last week's remarkable takedown of NJCAA royalty in perennial powerhouse Iowa Western, the Warriors had been defeated 6-1 earlier in the series by Wabash Valley, forcing the Warriors into the situation of having to take out the NJCAA's top-ranked team twice on Saturday in the Midwest District Series' double-elimination format.
Undaunted, IHCC didn't just defeat the high-powered outfit from Mount Carmel, Illinois, they left no doubt on this day, winning 10-4 and 9-4 in games that were never very close to send Indian Hills to the school's 12th JUCO World Series bid in Grand Junction, Colorado, and IHCC's first since 2004.
"The energy in dugout was amazing. Our guys knew what we were playing for and they were not shying away from it," said Indian Hills Head Coach Matthew Torrez. "I'm just so happy for the kids and my assistants. They put so much time and effort in to this. The emotions after the game from our kids were so great to see."
The Warriors will find their seed, opponent, as well as what day and time they will play sometime on Monday, May 24 when the NJCAA reveals the World Series Bracket via the NJCAA website and the NJCAA Baseball Twitter account.
"We've created connections within that it seems like the guys want to stay around a little while longer, so we'll go ahead and just stay around, and make some make some travel plans," Torrez said. "I'm so excited. I've got a lot of friends in Grand Junction so if you want to come hang out, it might be a good time for you."
Like he's gotten all season long, Torrez got masterful pitching performances from his stable full of arms yesterday.
In the opener yesterday, the Warrior skipper turned to Wyatt Wendell and the COVID-sophomore delivered six strong innings to get the win, despite being drilled with a come-backer in the pitching shoulder in the third frame.
"Wyatt was doing well, then he gets a ball off his arm, and he wasn't the same, but he went out there and gave us everything he had and went for 115 pitches for us," Torrez said. "That probably won us the day, right? We didn't have to go to other guys out of the pen."
Torrez would eventually have to take Wendell down with pitch count concerns, but his pen was just as solid as Dade Hensley, Gavin Hinckley and Charles Lefebvre pitched confidently, and why not? The Warrior offense had built a 10-1 lead on their shell-shocked opponents.
"Charles Lefebvre comes back on one day's rest to close it there. It's an amazing group of kids, man… it really is," Torrez said. "It's really fun to be around them. You know there's always those struggles throughout the year. It's a long, long season, but right now, they're sold in for each other."
With the 10-4 win in game one in their hip pocket, Torrez turned to Douglas Rojas in the winner-take-all final game. With all the pressure on the lefty from Venezuela, he came up big when the Warriors needed him most.
Rojas scattered five hits over his 5 2/3 innings and gave up single tallies in the third and fourth innings before being taken down for Nick Marshall.
Yes… that Nick Marshall. Friday's game two starter that pitched seven innings in the elimination game against Kaskaskia.
The all-hands-on-deck situation creates some bravery that is needed to keep season's alive, and Marshall answered the bell, giving Torrez another 3 1/3 innings out of the pen to close out Wabash Valley, surrendering just a single run.
"Nick gives me three-and-a-third on no day's rest and heck, I think he was better today than yesterday," Torrez said. "Dave Janssen is beat up and has caught almost every single game for us. We're not where we are right now without Dave Janssen. He's the number one reason we're here, because of what he's done behind the plate this year. What an amazing group of individuals we have."
Lost in the brilliant pitching performances were the offensive outbursts in both contests. Ren Tachioka led IHCC at the plate in game one with three hits in the leadoff spot including a double while Janssen added a pair of hits and two RBI. Arturo Rodriguez also plated a pair of runs in the opener.
In the nightcap, Pier-Olivier Boucher paced the Warriors' 12-hit attack with three hits, while Tucker Ebest, Noel Perez and Tachioka each added a pair of hits and two runs scored. Perez also added a triple in addition to some nifty glove work.
Wabash Valley had only lost three games all season coming into the weekend and had not lost back-to-back games all year. WVC bows out at 54-5 and had its 16-game winning streak snapped. These same two teams met in the District Finals in 2017 when IHCC fell in the final game when Wabash Valley executed a safety squeeze to send WVC to Grand Junction where they finished third.
MIDWEST DISTRICT SERIES
FINALS
GAME ONE
Wabash Valley 100 000 030 – 4 10 3
Indian Hills 035 001 10x – 10 9 3
Zac Robinson, Beau Coffman (3), Caleb Meeks (3), Keegan Batka (6), Jake Strmska (7), Grant Pytel (8) and Jonathan Nieves. Wyatt Wendell, Dade Hensley (7), Gavin Hinckley (8), Charles Lefebvre (9) and Dave Janssen.
W – Wendell (8-3). L – Beau Coffman (7-1)
E – Minyety, Pennington 2, Castillo, Perez, Van Grieken. DP – WV 1, IH 1. LOB – WV 12, IH 10. 2B – Littrell, Pinales, Tachioka. HR – Pinales. RBI – Hogart, Pennington, Pinales, Castillo, Fortier, Janssen 2, Rodriguez, Rachioka, Van Grieken. SAC – Rodriguez. HBP – Ebest, Rodriguez 2. SB – Tachioka. CS – Boucher.
GAME TWO
Indian Hills 004 400 100 – 9 12 0
Wabash Valley 001 111 001 – 4 8 0
Douglas Rojas, Nick Marshall (6) and Dave Janssen. Jason Bollman, Ryan Sleeper (4), Zach Westphal (5), Pablo Suarez (7), Jacob Bimbi (7), Isaac Crabb (8), Hylan Hall (9) and Jonathan Nieves, Jake Strmska (6).
W – Rojas (6-0). L – Bollman (5-2).
DP – WV 1. LOB – IH 13, WV 9. 3B – Perez, McCoy, Washington. HR – McCoy. RBI – Boucher 2, Ebest, Perez 2, Van Grieken 2, McCoy, Minyety, Washington. HBP – Janssen, Morrow, Washington. SB – Boucher.