Centerville, IA – Indian Hills Baseball's comeback effort fell short at Pat Daugherty Field on Saturday as the Warriors dropped an 8-7 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) contest to Kirkwood Community College.
Trailing 8-4 through six innings, the Warriors plated a run in the seventh and added two more in the eighth before placing a pair of runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. For the second consecutive day, the Warriors came up a run short to the Eagles as Indian Hills fell to 22-11 overall and 12-6 in ICCAC play.
Three different Warriors collected two hits in the loss as Ricardo Van Grieken (Merida, Venezuela/San Luis), Thomas Emerich (Ava, MO/Ava), and Jackson Romero (Fort Collins, CO/Resurrection Christian) aided in the team's 10-hit effort. Noah Butler (Houston, TX/Goose Creek Memorial) added a two-run single for the Warriors.
Starting pitcher Jack Nelson (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville Community) struck out five batters in 3.1 innings of work. Gavin Hinckley (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) and Sam Hart (Highlands Ranch, CO/ThunderRidge) combined for 3.0 innings of relief work, allowing just one hit and zero runs.
Kirkwood built a 5-0 lead through three and a half innings before the Warriors got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. An RBI single from Emerich opened the scoring before Butler's two-run knock. The two teams exchanged runs in the fifth as Kirkwood held a 6-4 advantage.
The Eagles extended the lead to 8-4 in the sixth on a two-run home run. Indian Hills rally began in the bottom of the seventh with a run on a wild pitch. Indian Hills plated two more in the eighth as Van Grieken's single pulled the Warriors within one, 8-7, but ultimately fell short to drop the final game of the weekend series.
The Warriors return to Pat Daugherty Field for a doubleheader with Southwestern Community College on Tuesday, April 19 at 1:00 PM.
Tough loss this afternoon, but a great day to celebrate our sophomore class during Parent's Weekend at Pat Daugherty Field!
— Indian Hills Baseball (@IHCCBaseball) April 16, 2022
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