Centerville, IA – Diego Aragon (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) lined a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Indian Hills Baseball team to a sweep of Iowa Central at Pat Daugherty Field on Wednesday. The Warriors improve to 29-13 overall and 19-7 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play.
After picking up an 8-3 victory in game one, the Warriors jumped out to a 7-1 lead over the Tritons in the nightcap. Iowa Central responded with seven unanswered runs to take an 8-7 lead before the Warriors tied the game up in the bottom of the eighth. With one out and a runner on second, Aragon delivered the walk-off base hit to win it for the Warriors.
Aragon's first-career walk-off hit lifted the team to its 19th home win of the season. "We had our scouting report ready to go and I was sitting slider and the first pitch comes up and it's a slider," stated Aragon. "We just come out every day and try to compete and do our best."
Indian Hills owns the second-best record in the ICCAC behind only No. 8 nationally ranked Iowa Western Community College. The Warriors have seven more conference games down the stretch before the team is set to host the NJCAA DI Region XI Tournament in Centerville May 12-14.
The Warriors fell behind 2-1 after the first inning of the opening game, but Tucker Ebest (Austin, TX/Lasa) sparked the offense with a three-run double to right field for a 4-2 edge. The two sides exchanged runs in the third before Ebest once again powered the Warriors, this time with a two-run home run in the fourth, his sixth of the year.
Ebest finished the game 3-4 at the plate with a career-high five RBI. Arturo Rodriguez (San Diego, CA/San Ysidro) went the distance on the mound, allowing three earned runs while striking out six batters to improve to 4-2 on the year.
The Warriors exploded for seven runs in the second inning of game two to jump ahead early on the Tritons. Gerardo Villarreal (Laredo, TX/United South) opened the scoring with a solo home run, his second of the year. Ricardo Van Grieken (Merida, Venezuela/San Luis) added a two-run double before Villarreal added two more RBI in the inning on a single for a 7-1 lead.
The Tritons chipped away at the deficit and eventually took an 8-7 lead in the top of the eighth. The Warriors plated a run in the bottom half as Aragon scored on a bases loaded groundout from Van Grieken.
Gavin Hinckley (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) took the mound in relief in the ninth and held the Tritons scoreless to give Indian Hills a chance in the bottom half. After a walk to Jackson Romero (Fort Collins, CO/Resurrection Christian), Noah Butler (Houston, TX/Goose Creek Memorial) executed a sacrifice bunt to put Romero in scoring position. Aragon stepped to the plate and lined the first pitch down the right field line to clinch the win.
Daniel Figueroa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) added two more hits in the game and now owns a team-best .380 batting average with 49 hits on the year. Hinckley earned the win on the mound to improve to 2-0 on the year.
The Warriors now travel to Boone, IA for a four-game series against Des Moines Area Community College. The two teams will square off for a conference doubleheader on Saturday, set to begin at 1:00 PM. Sunday's twinbill will feature one conference matchup and one nonconference game, set to start at 12:00 PM.
�� @diegoaragon_ walks it off today in a sweep of Iowa Central!
— Indian Hills Baseball (@IHCCBaseball) April 28, 2022
With two more wins today, Warriors improve to 29-13 and 19-7 overall in the @ICCACSports. pic.twitter.com/pDXV9dI5Fh