Centerville, IA – Jackson Romero (Fort Collins, CO/Resurrection Christian) homered late to put the game out of reach as the Indian Hills Baseball team picked up an 11-7 win over Ellsworth Community College at Pat Daugherty Field on Sunday.
A day after splitting an Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) doubleheader in Centerville, the Warriors rallied late on Sunday to take the three-game series, two games to one. The Warriors improve to 21-7 overall and 11-2 in conference play.
Romero came off the bench to go 2-2 for the Warriors, including his third home run of the season. Eight different Warriors recorded a hit on the afternoon.
Gavin Hinckley (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) worked 4.1 innings of relief on the mound to pick up the win, his first of the season.
Saturday saw a pair of shutouts, one from each side, but Sunday's affair saw plenty of offense from each dugout. Ellsworth struck first with a run in the top of the second before Thomas Emerich (Ava/MO/Ava) scored in the bottom half to even out the scoreboard.
The Panthers responded with a pair of runs in the top half of the second to regain the lead. Indian Hills answered with three in the fourth thanks to a two-run single from Sleiter Suriel (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville). Daniel Figueroa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) added a run-scoring single to score Suriel for a 4-3 Warrior lead.
The Panthers struck once again, this time with back-to-back innings with a pair of runs to take a 7-4 lead. Trailing by three in the sixth, the Warriors called Romero to pinch hit and the COVID-freshman delivered an RBI single.
After a scoreless seventh from Hinckley, the Warrior bats broke things open in the bottom half of the inning. A two-run double from Ricardo Van Grieken (Merida, Venezuela/San Luis) tied the game at seven. A sacrifice fly from Gerardo Villarreal (Laredo, TX/United South) regained the lead for the Warriors at 8-7. After another run extended the lead to two, Romero delivered a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall for the 11-7 advantage.
Hinckley closed out the contest allowing just one baserunner over the final three innings. Hinckley struck out four on the day.
Van Grieken finished the three-game series with Ellsworth going 6-8 at the plate with seven RBI and five runs scored. Van Grieken extended his hitting streak to a season-high nine games.
The Warriors head to Council Bluffs, IA to take on Iowa Western Community College, currently ranked No. 9 in the nation, for two conference games. The Reivers currently lead the ICCAC standings at 12-1 while the Warriors sit in second at 11-2.
B7 | @JacksonRomo2 breaks it open in the 7th with a two-run shot��
— Indian Hills Baseball (@IHCCBaseball) April 10, 2022
Warriors take an 11-7 lead over @ECCPanthersBB.
�� @GoHillsTv pic.twitter.com/1iJO9gySiI