Arkansas City, KS – The Indian Hills Baseball team opened up the 2022 season with a statement win, knocking off No. 6 nationally ranked Cowley College (KS) 8-7 on the road Thursday afternoon. Jack Payne (San Antonio, TX/Clark) picked up the win in relief for the Warriors.
Thursday's opening day pitted a pair of JUCO World Series participants from a year ago against one another. A key four-run seventh inning powered the Warriors to victory behind a number of impressive individual performances from both sophomore returners and new faces to the program for Indian Hills. Freshman Daniel Figueroa (Toa Alta, PR/Leadership Christian Academy) went 3-3 on the day while returning First-Team All-Region XI selection Ricardo Van Grieken (Merida, VZ/San Luis HS) sparked the offense with an early two-run home run as Indian Hills picked up its second consecutive opening day win.
"I am really happy with how we recovered from a slow start early," stated head coach Matthew Torrez. "You could tell we were trying to knock off the rust early on the defensive side. It was really exciting for our kids to be outside and on the field seeing the ball fly. You could feel the energy from our dugout all day. Kids were really into the game even after the slow start."
The Tigers staked a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but starting pitcher Douglas Rojas (Valencia, Venezuela/U.E. Cabriales) settled down and tossed back-to-back scoreless frames for the Warriors. Van Grieken, who ignited the Warriors at last year's JUCO World Series with a home run, tied the ballgame with his fourth-career long ball, a two-run shot in the top of the fourth to tie the game.
Cowley responded with a two-run inning in the bottom half of the frame before Figueroa introduced himself to the collegiate game. The freshman doubled in the top of the fifth to score James Dutton (Toronto, ON/Forest Hill Collegiate Institute) and later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at four.
The Warriors broke the game open in the seventh after Payne posted consecutive scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth with three punchouts to maintain the tie. Jackson Romero (Fort Collins, CO/Resurrection Christian) opened the scoring in the seventh with a three-run home run to score both Figueroa and Dutton for a 7-4 lead. Thomas Emerich (Ava, MO/Ava) added a run-scoring double to push the Warriors ahead 8-4.
The Tigers responded with two runs in the seventh and a single run in the bottom of the ninth, but the relief work of Sam Hart (Highlands Ranch, CO/ThunderRidge) closed out the game to give Indian Hills the win.
The two sides return to play for a doubleheader Friday afternoon. Action gets underway in Arkansas City at 1:00 PM. Fans can watch both games live via the Cowley Sports Net.