Norfolk, NE – The Indian Hills Baseball team picked up two Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) wins on the road Sunday after defeating Northeast Community College (NE) 14-2 and 7-5. The Warriors improve to 27-12 overall and 17-6 in league play.
The Warriors collected 27 hits on the day, including 15 in the game two win. Ricardo Van Grieken (Merida, Venezuela/San Luis) and Jackson Romero (Fort Collins, CO/Resurrection Christian) each tallied five hits on the day as Van Grieken went 4-5 in game two while Romero totaled three doubles.
COVID-sophomore Douglas Rojas (Valencia, Venezuela/U.E. Cabriales) recorded the complete game victory in game one after allowing just two unearned runs. Rojas has now pitched three consecutive complete games without allowing an earned run and extended his streak to 27 innings without an earned run allowed. Rojas struck out seven and lowered his season earned run average to 1.49.
The Warriors move into sole possession of second place in the ICCAC standings and have won five of their last six contests.
Indian Hills struck first in the opening game with a run in the second inning before erupting for 11 runs in the third inning to put the game out of reach early. Gerardo Villarreal (Laredo, TX/United South) and Romero delivered RBI base hits before a bases loaded triple from Aliskair Descates (Thornton, CO/Unidad Educativa Colegio Libertador) broke the game open. Leading 10-0, Tucker Ebest (Austin, TX/Lasa) sent a 1-0 pitch over the right field wall, a two-run shot for his team-leading sixth home run of the year as the Warriors ran away with the opener.
Daniel Figueroa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) went 3-3 with three runs scored in the win. Descartes and Diego Aragon (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) each tallied three RBI.
Indian Hills scored the game's first run in game two as James Dutton (Toronto, Ont/Forest Hill Collegiate) doubled to drive in Villarreal. The lead lasted until the third inning when the Hawks plated three runs.
Aragon led off the fifth inning with a solo home run to pull the Warriors within one before Figueroa broke for home on a bunt to tie the game in the same inning. Northeast jumped back on top with a run in the sixth while both sides exchanged leads in the seventh as Indian Hills still trailed by one.
In the top of the eighth, Aragon delivered once again with an RBI single to score Romero and tie the game at five. After Dade Hensley (Mason, OH/Mason) kept the Hawks scoreless in the bottom half, Lukas Broske (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) stepped in to pinch hit and delivered an RBI triple to center in the top of the ninth. Romero delivered an insurance run with an RBI double and Hensley closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.
Jack Nelson (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville Community) struck out six batters in six innings of work on the mound for the Warriors while Hensley did not allow a hit in 2.1 innings of relief to earn the win, his fourth of the season.
The Warriors and Hawks wrap up their three-game conference series with a single nine inning contest at 12:00 PM on Monday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.