Centerville, IA – The Indian Hills Baseball team picked up its first Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) victory of the year on Tuesday afternoon, dropping Kirkwood Community College 13-7 at Pat Daugherty Field. The Warriors move to 16-4 overall on the year.
In the team's first league affair of the year, the Warriors fell behind early with a 4-0 deficit, but battled back in the early stages of the game to take the lead. A four-run sixth inning, paired with four consecutive scoreless frames from the Eagles, led to the Warriors' seventh win in the team's last eight contests.
Indian Hills, who checked into the national rankings in the 'Others Receiving Votes' category this week, pounded out a season-high 18 hits in the victory as the team produced a double-digit run total for the fourth time in the last eight matchups. Nine different individuals collected a hit on Tuesday, including seven who boasted multiple hits. Sophomores Logan Myers (Andover, MN/Andover) and Raul Torres (Caguas, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) each tallied three hits for the Warriors.
Seven different Warriors saw action on the mound as the bullpen stepped up down the stretch to secure the win. Tomoki Jitsukawa (Tokyo, Japan/Tokai Sapporo) secured the victory while five pitchers in total produced scoreless outings.
The Eagles took advantage of a blustery day at Pat Daugherty Field, plating four runs in the opening inning on four hits. The Warriors responded with three runs of their own in the second frame, capped by Torres run-scoring single up the middle.
Kirkwood regained a two-run advantage, 5-3 in the top of the third, but the Warrior offense continued to thrive with three runs of their own in the bottom half, including an RBI double from Miguel Salazar (Sentaines, Venezuela/San Luis). Freshman Zachari Pace (Colorado Springs, Colorado/Vista Ridge), this week's ICCAC Athlete of the Week, delivered a two-run double in the fourth to extend the lead to 8-5 for the Warriors.
Jitsukawa's scoreless appearance paved the way for the Warrior rally as the sophomore kept the Eagles in check. The Warriors poured it on in the sixth as Torres added a two-run single while Miguel Padron (Valencia, Venezuela/U.E.I Aguiles Nazoa) added an RBI single to give Indian Hills the 13-7 lead.
Aiden Ennis (Scarborough, Ontario/Mary Ward Catholic) excelled on the bump with two scoreless frames before Logan Winkelman (Foley, MN/Foley) added a scoreless appearance with three strikeouts. Sophomore All-Region performers from a year ago, Carlos Valenzuela (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Global Life Vision) and Nathan Smithburg (Fairfield, IA/Fairfield) closed out the game, retiring the final five batters.
Padron added two hits while Endi Jaquez (Santiago, Dominican Republic/Radio Santa Maria) went 2-5 with two runs and three RBI in the win. Salazar added two hits, two RBI and three runs scored while Pace and Dylan Sayles (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) each collected two hits.
Jitsukawa has now allowed just two earned runs in his last six appearances as the Warriors are 6-1 in ballgames that the hurler has appeared in this year.
Offensively, Torres has been a force at the plate as the sophomore extended his season-high hitting streak to six games on Tuesday. The sophomore infielder has recorded a hit in 10 of the last 11 contests and has reached base safely in 18 consecutive contests. Torres has reached base safely in all but one of the team's 20 games this year.
Weather pending, the Warriors are set for a three-game ICCAC series at Southwestern Community College this weekend in Creston. Indian Hills is scheduled for a doubleheader on Saturday and a single contest Sunday afternoon.
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