Centerville, IA – The Indian Hills Baseball team advanced to the championship round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI DI Baseball Tournament after eliminating Marshalltown 14-6 at Pat Daugherty Field. The Warriors will take on top-seeded Iowa Western Community College at 1:00 PM Saturday.
The Warriors entered the day Friday 1-0 in the postseason tournament after a lopsided victory over Marshalltown on Thursday night. The Warriors suffered a second round loss Friday afternoon to Iowa Western, 4-2 that forced Indian Hills into an elimination game with Marshalltown on Friday night. The Tigers jumped out to an early lead, but Indian Hills battled back and eventually handled the Tigers down the stretch to set the stage for Saturday against the Reivers.
The Warriors and Reivers will meet in the championship game of the Region XI tournament for the second consecutive season and fourth time in the last five. Indian Hills, who upended the Reivers last year to win the Region XI Championship on its way to the JUCO World Series, will need to beat the Reivers twice on Saturday to claim its third Region XI title since 2017.
Friday's postseason action got underway with Marshalltown eliminating No. 4 seed Southwestern in Game No. 3 of the tournament. The Warriors and Reivers then squared off in the winner's bracket for a berth in the title game. The Warriors struck first as Ricardo Van Grieken (Merida, Venezuela/San Luis) crossed home in the top of the first on a wild pitch. The Reivers immediately responded with three runs in the bottom half to take the lead.
The Warriors, playing as the visiting team, threatened in the top of the second and plated a second run on an RBI single form Daniel Figueroa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) to cut the deficit in half.
After the three runs in the first, starting pitcher Douglas Rojas (Caracas, Venezuela/U.E. Cabriales) held the Reivers scoreless over the next five frames, retiring nine straight batters at one point. The Reivers finally broke free in the seventh and tacked on another run to make it a 4-2 ballgame while the Warrior offense stalled down the stretch. Indian Hills put a runner in scoring position in the ninth but were unable to push across a run as Iowa Western remained unbeaten in the tournament.
The Warriors outhit the Reivers 8-3 on the day, including two hits from Figueroa, Van Grieken, and Jackson Romero (Fort Collins, CO/Resurrection Christian). Rojas finished the game with eight strikeouts while allowing just two hits, no walks, and one earned run.
The Warriors entered the elimination bracket against Marshalltown needing a win to stay alive. Despite a 28-4 throttling of the Tigers on Thursday night, it was Marshalltown who took control early on in Friday's contest. The Tigers scored a run in both the fourth and fifth while holding the Warriors hitless to stake a 2-0 lead.
The Indian Hills bats finally came through in the fifth with three runs. A leadoff triple from Gerardo Villarreal (Laredo, TX/United South) eventually led to a two-run double from Thomas Emerich (Ava, MO/Ava) and a Tiger balk for a 3-2 lead.
The Warriors broke the game open with a seven-spot in the sixth to take a 10-2 lead. Noah Butler's (Houston, TX/Goose Creek Memorial) bases clearing triple highlighted the inning for the Warriors.
The Tigers clawed its way back down the stretch, scoring two each in the seventh and eighth, but a three-run home from form Villarreal in the eighth closed out the game and pushed the Warriors onto championship Saturday.
Villarreal and Emerich each collected two hits and four RBI in the win while Tucker Ebest (Austin, TX/Lasa) added two hits.
Starting pitcher Greg Campos (Laredo, TX/United South) struck out five batters in 3.2 innings. Dade Hensley (Mason, OH/Mason) earned the win, allowing just two hits in 2.1 innings of relief work.
For tournament scores, stats, updates, and more, visit: NJCAA REGION XI TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Fans can view every pitch of the NJCAA Region XI DI Baseball Tournament by downloading the GoHillsTV app on their smartphone or tablet device, visiting www.gohillstv.com/browse, or on the GoHillsTV Facebook page.
Send us to Saturday, Jerry ��
— GoHillsTV (@GoHillsTv) May 14, 2022
A three-run home run from @JerryV1330 puts @IHCCBaseball in tomorrow's @NJCAABaseball Region XI final vs. @ReiverBaseball at 1:00 PM. pic.twitter.com/UZPB5ch6H9