Four Wins Have Falcons Back on Track

Muscatine, IA -- Indian Hills has played three four-game series in conference play this spring and all have resulted in sweeps. Two of the sweeps have been in the Falcons' favor, including four wins in the past two days against league foe Muscatine CC.

Those wins served to cancel out the previous weekend's four losses to league leader Iowa Western. And they improved IHCC's Region 11 record to 8-4 and overall mark to 16-18.

Indian Hills and Muscatine were forced to play a doubleheader Monday after rain on Saturday pushed back the start of the series.

A two-run pinch-hit homer in the top of the 10th by Miguel Sanchez in the second game allowed the Falcons to finish off the sweep, for the day and the series. They won game two 8-6 after a 6-1 victory in the first game.

Sanchez' homer made a winner of reliever Caleb Phillips, who pitched three innings of three-hit ball with five K's.

Matt Cook started for the Falcons and turned the game over with a one-run lead to Jordan Piche who had finished both games on Sunday. But Muscatine pushed across the tying run to send the game to extra innings.

Each team scored a run in the 9th and Sanchez sent the Falcons back home to Centerville happy with his roundtripper in the 10th.

The Falcons won despite being outhit, 15-8. Jordan Patton homered and had two hits and Francisco Perez also had two hits for IHCC.

Indian Hills scored single runs in each of the first four innings to take a 4-0 lead. The Cardinals battled back and finally tied it in the 7th.

Monday's opener featured a dominant pitching performance by IHCC's Adam Peters. The sophomore righthander allowed only a first-inning home run to Jimmy Risi, scattered six hits, didn't walk anybody and fanned five.

The Falcons snapped a 1-all tie with a run in the 3rd and then put the game away with four in the 4th. Adam Coleman had a double and a homer and drove in three. Patton and Cook also had two-hit games.

Indian Hills claimed Sunday's opener in their final at bat, winning 4-3. A Mitch Osnowitz sacrifice fly drove in the game-winner. Osnowitz had hit a mammoth home run in the 4th to tie the score at 3. Kelvin Brito accounted for the rest of the IHCC scoring with a two-run homer in the 2nd.

The winning rally in the 7th started when MCC's right fielder lost a shallow fly ball in the sun. Two infield singles loaded the bases and Osnowitz's long fly ball to right brought in the game-winning tally.

Kevin Vazquez went the first six innings for the Falcons and got the win. Piche nailed down the victory.

Vazquez gave up two first-inning runs on four hits, but settled down after that, giving up only one additional run and three hits over the next five frames.

The second-game win, by an 8-5 score, included the go-ahead run in the 6th and two insurance runs, both unearned, in the 7th. The eventual game-deciding run came after Coleman was hit by a pitch and scored on a double off the center field fence by Matt Cook.

Indian Hills grabbed a 5-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings. The Cardinals plated four runs in the 3rd, chasing starter Tyler Sparger, and tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the 4th.

Dylan Badura, the third of four IHCC pitchers, got the win. He threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Piche notched his second save of the day by pitching the 7th.

The conference sweep by Indian Hills matches one they had against Southwestern to begin league play. The Falcons are scheduled to play a non-conference doubleheader at Ellsworth CC on Tuesday.