Millington, TN – The Indian Hills Baseball squad split a pair of contests on Sunday afternoon at the Flag City Classic. The Warriors dropped their opener to Three Rivers College (MO) 5-4 before taking down North Central Missouri College 6-1 in the nightcap.
The split moves the Warriors to 2-2 overall on the year.
Indian Hills pounded out 18 hits on the day Sunday, including 11 in the opener vs. Three Rivers. Sophomores Ethan Acevedo (Bronx, NY/Iona Prep) and Cale Clark (Marionville, MO/Marionville) each tallied three hits in the opener and finished the afternoon with four hits apiece. In total, nine different players collected a hit on Sunday at USA Stadium.
Unfavorable weather altered the Flag City Classic's original schedule, forcing the Warriors to push their trip to Millington back by two days. Sunday's opener saw the Warriors strike first with a pair of runs in the opening frame as Acevedo singled and later scored on an RBI from Eduardo Espinoza (Lecheria, Venezuela/Collegio Laura Vicuna). Sophomore Zachari Pace (Colorado Springs, CO/Vista Ridge) delivered an RBI knock of his own to score Espinoza for the 2-0 advantage.
The Raiders responded with three runs in the bottom half of the first to take their first lead of the day. Trailing 4-2 in the fourth, Clark drove in Espinoza with an RBI single through the left side to pull the Warriors back within one.
Acevedo delivered the game-tying knock in the top half of the fifth with a single to right, scoring Boris Rodriguez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico/ESCAED). Sophomore Kurtis Smith (Melbourne, Australia/Wantirna), Sunday's game one starter, settled in on the mound with back-to-back scoreless frames to keep the Raiders at bay.
Freshman Lincoln Muller (Delta, Canada/Sands Secondary) held the Raiders scoreless in the fifth with a strong relief appearance, but Three Rivers was able to score the eventual game-winner in the bottom of the sixth as Indian Hills left a runner stranded in the seventh to close out the opener.
Acevedo finished the opener 3-5 at the plate while Clark went 3-3. Smith earned a no decision while striking out six batters while Muller posted four punchouts in just two innings of relief work.
For the third time in its first four games of the year, the Warriors were first on the scoreboard in Sunday's nightcap vs. North Central Missouri. Rodriguez singled through the left side to score Tijmen Nagel (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Roc Amsterdam) for a 1-0 advantage in the second. Freshman Jose Lopez (Las Tablas, Panama/Springfield Commonwealth) added a run-scoring knock in the second to score Espinoza, doubling the lead.
Sophomore hurler Cole Huebner (Edmonton, Alberta/Strathcona) was on cruise control early for the Warriors. Huebner kept the Pirates off the scoreboard while Castillo aided the defense from behind the plate, nabbing a pair of runners in back-to-back innings.
Indian Hills broke things open in the fifth as Clark drove a pitch over the right field wall for a three-run home run. Just two pitches later, Nagel went back-to-back with Clark with a solo home run, his second-career longball for the Warriors.
Following five scoreless frames from Huebner, relivers Jonah Mayoral (Littleton, CO/Heritage) and Kayne Braxton (Independence, MO/Truman) closed out the win for the Warriors on the mound.
Espinoza, who has now hit safely in all four games to start the year, upped his team-leading batting average to .462 on the year after collecting three hits to go along with three runs on Sunday.
Huebner has now posted three appearances in his Indian Hills career with at least five innings pitched and zero runs allowed.
Indian Hills returns to action for its final day at the Flag City Classic on Monday with a pair of ballgames. The Warriors will take on Missouri State University – West Plains at 11:00 AM followed by the finale vs. North Central Missouri at 2:00 PM.
Fans can catch all of the action live: FLAG CITY CLASSIC LIVE STREAM
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