Centerville, IA – The Indian Hills Baseball team erupted for a season-high 15 runs on Wednesday afternoon as the Warriors ran past Southwestern Community College 15-2 in the team's home opener at Pat Daugherty Field. The Warriors move to 10-3 overall on the year.
Led by a three-hit performance from sophomore Ciro Benavides (Laredo, TXAlexander), the Warriors scored in five of the six innings of offense, including four innings with at least three runs each. As a team, seven different Warriors connected on hits on the day.
First web gem at PDF this year ⚡️
— Indian Hills Baseball (@IHCCBaseball) March 6, 2024
Warriors up big in the home opener. Tune in live on @GoHillsTv!#WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/cNX0o5XTLd
On the mound, sophomore Logan Winkleman (Foley, MN/Foley) tossed three scoreless innings to pace the pitching staff. Indian Hills used a platoon of five pitchers to allow just three hits and one earned run on the afternoon.
Averaging 6.6 runs per game through the team's first 12 contests of the year, the Warriors jumped on the Spartans from the get-go. Freshman Endi Jaquez (Santiago, Dominican Republic/Radio Santa Maria) posted a leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning before rounding the bases on a passed ball and steal and eventually crossed the plate on a RBI groundout from sophomore Raul Torres (Cauguas, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy). The Warriors poured it on from there.
Indian Hills tacked on three more runs in the second, including an RBI single from Dylan Sayles (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) to score Zachari Pace (Colorado Springs, CO/Vista Ridge). The Warriors plated four more runs in the third after Benavides delivered a two-run single to right for an 8-0 advantage.
Southwestern posted a pair of runs in the top half of the fifth, but the Warriors responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame with another four-spot. Benavides delivered another run-scoring knock as the Warriors wreaked havoc on the base paths during the frame.
Jed Kilpatrick (Niwot, CO/Niwot) delivered a run-scoring single in the sixth while Torres capped the scoring with an RBI single to score Benavides for the 15-2 edge.
Benavides finished the day 3-4 with three RBI and two runs scored to go along with two stolen bases. The sophomore upped his season average to a team-leading .419.
Sayles provided a spark for the Warriors in the middle of the lineup, going 2-2 with four runs scored and three stolen bases.
In his second start of the season, Winkelman overpowered the Spartan offense with three scoreless frames. The sophomore hurler struck out four batters without allowing a hit and issued just one walk to earn his first-career victory.
Tomoki Jitsukawa (Tokyo, Japan/Tokai Sapporo) tossed a perfect inning in relief while Kurtis Smith (Melbourne, Australia/Wantirna) pitched a scoreless sixth inning to keep the Spartans at bay.
Indian Hills has now won five of its last six home openers at Pat Daugherty Field.
The Warriors and Spartans are set to square off once again on Saturday afternoon with a single nine-inning contest at Pat Daugherty Field. First pitch is set for 2:00 PM.
Looking for Indian Hills Athletics information straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter and mobile alerts to receive news, scores, highlights, and more in real-time: INDIAN HILLS ATHLETICS NEWSLETTER
