West Burlington, IA – The Indian Hills Baseball team erupted for 19 runs in the opener before finishing off the conference sweep of Southeastern Community College Tuesday afternoon at the Dick Wagner Complex. The pair of wins extended the Warriors' winning streak to nine games.
The Warriors pounded out 31 hits in the afternoon affair with the Blackhawks to improve to 16-5 overall and 6-0 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play. During the course of the nine game winning streak, the Warriors have outscored their opponents by a margin of 95-30.
Tucker Ebest (Austin, TX/Lasa) got the Warriors on the board in game one with a solo home run in the top of the second inning, but it was Southeastern that built an early 4-1 lead on its home field. Trailing by three in the top of the third, Ebest connected on his second home run in as many innings, a two-run shot to pull the Warriors within one.
Indian Hills took the lead in the top of the fourth with a two-run home run from Jackson Romero (Fort Collins, CO/Resurrection Christian), his second of the year. After Southeastern added a run to tie the game at five, the Warriors opened up the scoring in the fifth with a five-run frame with all five runs coming with two outs. Thomas Emerich (Ava, MO/Ava) delivered a run-scoring single Diego Aragon (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) and Sleiter Suriel (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) connected on two-run doubles.
The Warriors continued to pour it on with three runs in the sixth and six more in the seventh inning. Gerardo Villarreal (Laredo, TX/United South) recorded an RBI double while Emerich, Aragon, and Suriel all added additional run-scoring base hits for the Warriors.
Emerich finished the opener with a career-best four hits while Villarreal, Ebest, and Aragon each added three hits apiece. Romero finished the game with a pair of hits and three RBI.
Jurgen Zwitzer (Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands/Thorbecke Voortgezet Onderwijs) worked 4.2 innings on the mound with four strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Dade Hensley (Mason, OH/Mason) tossed 2.1 innings of relief while allowing just one run for the Warriors.
Ebest's big day continued in game two as the COVID-freshman connected on a two-run home run in the top of the first, his fourth long ball of the year. The Blackhawks responded with two runs in the bottom half and eventually took a 3-2 lead with a score in the fourth.
The Warriors broke things open in the sixth with a four-run inning to pull away. Indian Hills delivered six consecutive base hits to open the inning. Aragon recorded a two-run single and Daniel Figueroa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) added a two-run double.
Sam Hart (Highlands Ranch, CO/ThunderRidge) got the start on the mound and went 3.2 innings before Jack Payne (San Antonio, TX/Clark) took over. Payne allowed just one walk and no hits in three innings of relief to pick up his team-best fifth win of the season. Lukas Broske (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) struck out three batters in 1.1 innings while Douglas Rojas (Valencia, Venezuela/U.E. Cabriales) worked a scoreless frame to earn his second save of the year.
Figueroa tallied a pair of doubles in the nightcap while Aragon and Ebest each added a pair of hits.
The Warriors return to action this weekend with a three-game conference series at North Iowa Area Community College. The two teams will square off for a doubleheader at 1:00 PM Saturday and conclude the series with a single game at 1:00 PM Saturday.