2009 Season Review

The 2009 season ended one win shy of a Region XI title for the Indian Hills baseball team. The Falcons battled back after a loss to Iowa Western on the second day of the region tournament to win two games -- including a 15-13 slugfest victory over the Reivers -- to force another game with Iowa Western for the region title. Indian Hills had an early 2-0 lead in that contest, but Iowa Western prevailed 12-5.

That loss concluded a season in which IHCC finished at 35-24 and had a conference record of 10-6.

It was an Indian Hills team that played some outstanding baseball in the second half of the season. Over a 34-game stretch, Indian Hills posted a record of 25-9 and averaged over eight runs a game in that span. They scored in double figures 14 times.

Indian Hills started their torrid stretch with a six-game winning streak. After a shutout loss in the first game of a doubleheader at Iowa Central, the Falcons started a new winning streak in the nightcap of that twinbill, a streak that reached nine games before a last-inning loss at Longview CC in Kansas City.

The Falcons' top pitcher was sophomore right hander Christian Rivera who won his first eight decisions before suffering the loss in the final game of the season. Rivera was 8-1 with an ERA of 2.87.

Rivera led the IHCC mound staff in wins (8) and complete games (7), and tied for the lead in innings pitched with 59 2/3.

Travis Whitmore, a two-year starter for the Falcons, finished his sophomore season as the team leader in eight offensive categories. Whitmore played in 55 of IHCC's 60 games, starting 53 of them. He had team highs in at bats (190), hits (74), doubles (17), triples (6), RBIs (51), total bases (127), slugging percentage (.668), and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (1.116). Whitmore also belted eight homers and had a .389 batting average.