Falcons Sweep Marshalltown

Centerville -- A pair of one-run wins on Saturday and some big hitting on Sunday allowed the Indian Hills Falcons to take all four games in a weekend series with conference foe Marshalltown CC.  The sweep stretched the IHCC winning streak against the Tigers to seven games.  MCC won the series opener in a four-game set earlier in the season, but Indian Hills recovered to win the next three games.

A fielder's choice grounder scored the game-winning run in a 4-3 IHCC victory in the first game Saturday. The Falcons rallied from deficits of 7-1 and 9-5 in the second game and pulled out a 10-9 win when Zach Sims singled home the game-winner in the bottom of the 9th.

Sunday's contests weren't that exciting as the Falcons turned to their sophomore righthanders, Cashtyn DeLeeuw and Jordan Piche, to knock off MCC by scores of 9-2 and 7-3.

Piche scattered eight hits and struck out six to win the pitching matchup with the Tigers' all-region lefty, Jeff Degano.

IHCC scored seven runs in four innings against Degano with a four-run 4th ending his day.  Six straight batters reached base in that inning with Daryl Velez, Jeremy Delgado and Yuliecer Arias contributing three straight singles.  Arias had doubled to drive in a first-inning run and Guillermo Cruz singled home another.  Delgado had an RBI-hit in the 2nd. 

Delgado was 3-for-3 with a walk and Arias and Velez each had two hits.

In the first game, IHCC jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings.  They scored two runs in the 1st and then batted around to score three more in the 3rd.  The Falcons finished off MCC with a three-run 6th.

Delgado, Cruz and Adam Deneke all had two-hit games and Tyler Hermann delivered a two-run double in the 6th.

DeLeeuw went the first five innings, giving up one earned run and seven hits with five Ks.  Matt Lashlee threw two scoreless innings in relief.

Sims was in the middle of the game-tying and game-winning rallies in Saturday's second game. 

A three-run homer by Raul Centeno was followed by a Sims run-scoring single as the Falcons came back from 9-5 deficit in the bottom of the 7th.  Sims then singled home Francis Marcelo in the bottom of the 9th for the win.

Jason Bonilla had a homer and double and Sims had three singles as part of IHCC's 14-hit attack.

Jake Stalzer, the fifth Falcons pitcher, got the win in relief.  Relievers Sam Ross, Darwin Miranda, A.J. McElderry and Stalzer combined to allow MCC only six hits and two runs over the final 5 2/3 innings.

Indian Hills had only three hits, but that was sufficient to win a one-run decision in the first game of the weekend.  Kevin Arroyo doubled home Hermann and then scored on a Deneke base hit to give IHCC a 3-2 lead in the 4th.  After MCC tied it in the 5th, Deneke's infield groundout brought home the winning run in the 6th.

Anthony Gagliardi went the first six innings for the Falcons and got the win.  McElderry came out of the bullpen and retired the first three hitters in the lineup in order in the 7th to pick up his 6th save of the season.

The wins leave the Falcons with a season record of 26-20 and a conference mark of 14-10.  They go to Muscatine for a league twinbill on Wednesday.