Iowa Falls, IA – 13 runs over the final three innings lifted the Indian Hills Baseball team to an 18-8 win on the road at Ellsworth Community College on Tuesday afternoon. The Warriors move to 24-10 overall and 15-5 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play.
All nine batters that came to the plate on Tuesday recorded a hit, led by Dylan Sayles' (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) 5-5 effort. Jesus Rodriguez (Dominican Republic/Life Prep Academy) and Adrian Vargas (Caracas, Venezuela/Instituto Central de Educacion Ice) each added three hits in the contest to pace the Warriors' 19-hit attack. The 19 hits are the second-most in a game this year for the Warriors. Over the team's last five outings, Indian Hills is averaging 15 hits and 12.6 runs per game.
Freshman Andrei Gordeev (Balashika, Russia/Global Vision Christian) picked up the win on the mound to move to 2-0 on the year. Gordeev worked 5.2 innings with three strikeouts in the win.
After falling behind 2-0 in the opening frame, the Warriors responded with five runs over the next two innings, including three in the top half of the second. An RBI single from Sayles in the second and a run-scoring base hit from Vargas in the third powered the Warriors to a 5-2 advantage.
A two-spot from Ellsworth in the bottom of the third followed by a run in the fourth tied the game at four-all before a two-run home run from Vargas, the sophomore's second of the year, put Indian Hills back on top. Sayles added another run-scoring base hit in the frame as the Warriors' surge continued.
Indian Hills exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a run-scoring double from Raul Torres (Caguas, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) and a two-run home run from Rodriguez as Indian Hills batted around the order.
Sayles added his final hit, a run-scoring single in the seventh to extend the lead before Ciro Benavides (Laredo, TX/Alexander) capped the scoring with an RBI single.
The Warriors saw a number of hitting streaks extended as Rodriguez has now hit safely in seven contests. Daniel Figueroa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) and Vargas both own six-game hitting streaks while Sayles and Torres both boast five-game hitting streaks.
Along with Gordeev's performance, freshman Tomoki Jitsukawa (Tokyo, Japan/Tokai Sapporo) produced a solid relief outing, allowing just one hit in 1.1 innings of work.
Indian Hills returns home to Pat Daugherty Field on Wednesday for a single 9-inning conference matchup vs. North Iowa Area Community College at 1:00 PM.