Centerville, IA – Sophomore Zachari Pace (Colorado Springs, CO/Vista Ridge) delivered a late three-run home run to power Indian Hills Baseball to an Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) split with Des Moines Area Community College at Pat Daugherty Field on Saturday.
The Warriors dropped Saturday's conference opener to the Bears 7-5 in a back-and-forth contest before Pace's heroics helped the Warriors rally in the nightcap for an 11-9 victory. Indian Hills moves to 17-17 overall on the year and 11-6 in ICCAC action.
Despite the team's seven-game winning streak coming to an end with the game one loss, the Warriors put together another impressive showing on the offensive front, combining for 16 runs and 20 hits in Saturday's twinbill. The Warriors have now scored at least nine runs in eight of the team's last nine outings.
The Warriors returned to the friendly confines of Pat Daugherty Field on Saturday as sophomore AJ Marchetti (Wheeling, IL/Wheeling) kicked things off in the first inning of game one with a three-run home run. The Bears regrouped and eventually scored seven unanswered runs through five and a half innings of play.
Indian Hills threatened late in the opener as Cale Clark (Unionville, MO/Unionville) delivered a solo home run off the scoreboard in left center in the bottom half of the sixth to pull the Warriors within three. Pace added a run-scoring single in the frame to bring the Warriors within two, 7-5, but the Bears prevailed down the stretch to snap the Warriors' streak.
Clark finished the opener 2-4 while freshman Kevin Ramos (Sanot Domingo/Dominican Republic/Springfield Commonwealth) tallied three hits in the loss.
Game two saw the Bears strike first in the top half of the second before the two clubs exchanged leads over the next two frames. Indian Hills erupted for a five-run third inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Boris Rodriguez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico/ESCAED) as the Warriors built a 6-3 advantage.
The Bears rallied once again, evening the contest at 6-6 only to see Rodriguez come through once again, this time with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, the freshman's first-career roundtripper.
A two-run seventh from the Bears put the visitor's back on top on the scoreboard, setting the stage for the Warrior offense in the eighth. Marchetti struck first in the frame, delivering an RBI double down the left field line to even the score at eight a side. With two on, two out, and two strikes, Pace sent a shot over the left field wall for his third home run in as many contests and an 11-8 lead.
Sophomore Owen Corbett (Oswego, IL/Oswego) came in to close out the game on the mound in the ninth and shut the Bears down to preserve his second save of the year. Corbett struck out the final batter of the game, leaving three Bears stranded as the Warriors clinched the conference split.
Rodriguez finished the contest 3-5 at the plate with three RBI and two runs scored. Clark, Marchetti, and Travis Stroud (Atlanta, GA/The Stony Brook School) each added two hits. The Warrior pitching staff posted 14 strikeouts in the game two win, including six from starter Kurtis Smith (Melbourne, Australia/Wantirna) and five from Lincoln Muller (Delta, Canada/Sands Secondary) who earned his first collegiate victory on the mound.
The Warriors and Bears wrap up their three-game ICCAC series Sunday afternoon at Pat Daugherty Field. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM.
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of all Indian Hills home baseball games. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
- Facebook: visit www.facebook.com/gohillstv
- GoHillsTV App: Download the GoHillsTV app on your android or ios device
- Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
- Roku Streaming Device (new): Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!
Looking for Indian Hills Athletics information straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter and mobile alerts to receive news, scores, highlights, and more in real-time: INDIAN HILLS ATHLETICS NEWSLETTER