Hot Springs, AR – The Indian Hills Baseball squad wrapped up play at Majestic Park on Friday with its second consecutive doubleheader sweep over National Park College (AR). The Warriors closed out the late-week series with a 4-0 record vs. the Nighthawks.
One day removed from tallying 44 runs in a Thursday sweep of National Park, the Warriors kept the offense thriving with another pair of strong showings at the plate. Indian Hills took the opener 10-3 before closing out the set with a 19-7 victory in the nightcap. In total, the Warriors collected 12 extra base hits on Friday, including four home runs.
Game one saw the Warriors face their first deficit of the week as National Park struck an early 2-0 lead in the second inning. The Warriors responded immediately, plating nine runs in the top half of the third inning. An RBI knock from Jose Lopez (Las Tablas, Panama/Springfield Commonwealth) opened the scoring before sophomore Diego Mendez (Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico/ESCAED) drove in three with a double to right. Fellow sophomore Kevin Ramos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Springfield Commonwealth) capped the frame with a three-run home to right.
After the two runs allowed in the second, starting pitcher Tom Beeckmans (Opwijk, Belgium/Kta Dendermonde) found his rhythm with, allowing just one baserunner over the next two innings before freshman JD Moffett (Omaha, NE/Millard West) closed out the game with three shutout innings of relief to pick up the save.
Ramos finished the opener 2-4 at the plate with three RBI while Lopez and Boris Rodrigez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico/ESCAED) each tacked on two hits as the Warriors pounded out nine total base hits in the win.
The nightcap saw National Park strike first once again with two runs in the home half of the second. The Warriors once again saw Ramos come up with a key hit as the sophomore delivered another three-run home run in the third to put Indian Hills ahead.
The Nighthawks offense answered with two runs in the bottom of the third, but the Warriors erupted down the stretch, scoring three runs in the fourth, sixth in the fifth, and two in the seventh to run away for the series sweep.
Sophomore Callum Donnelly (Bulli, Australia/New Mexico JC) put together a season-best effort, going 4-6 at the plate with four runs scored and three RBI. Freshman Gage Perri (Andrews, TX/TCS Post Grad) delivered an impressive performance, going 3-4 with six RBI, including a home run in the seventh.
Sophomore Victor Mijares (Puerto Cabello, Venezuela/Springfield Commonwealth) contributed at the plate, going 3-5 with two runs scored while Brody Geist (Arvada, CO/Standley Lake) tacked on two hits and three runs scored.
The Warriors used a platoon of arms on the mound to close out the series as Dylan Eshuis (Haarlem, Netherlands/Jan Arentsz Alkmaar) got the start before sophomore Anton Keith (Boulder, CO/Fairview) worked two scoreless frames with three punchouts to earn the victory. Sophomre Connor Griess (Loveland, CO / Loveland) added two shutout innings to close out the win.
Mendez, this week's Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) DI Baseball Player of the Week, has now hit safely in seven consecutive games this year and boasts a team-high .526 batting average on the year.
The strong showing in the series sweep bumped the Warriors' team batting average up to .372 on the year, currently the 14th-best mark in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
The Warriors will hit the road once again to take on Cowley College (KS) for a four-game series February 27-28. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the preseason NJCAA DI Baseball Poll.
NEW YEAR - WHAT TO KNOW
Fans can keep up the Indian Hills Baseball squad all year long through a number of ways:
- X (formerly Twitter): @IHCCBaseball | @IHCCAthletics
- Facebook: Indian Hills Baseball | Indian Hills Athletics
- Instagram: @IHCCBaseball | @IHCCAthletics
- Youtube: Indian Hills Athletics
- Website: www.indianhillsathletics.com
- Catch up with the history of Indian Hills Baseball with the official Indian Hills Baseball Record Book
- All home games are played at the Pat Daugherty Field on the Indian Hills Centerville campus.
- Admission is free of charge for all home contests.
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of all Indian Hills Baseball home and postseason games. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
- GoHillsTV App: Download the Iowa Media Network app on your android or ios device and navigate to the GoHillsTV section
- Website: https://www.iowamedianetwork.com/gohillstv to catch all live and archived information
- Roku Streaming Device: Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!
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