Centerville -- Playing their first home games of the spring, Indian Hills won three-of-four games from Muscatine CC as the Falcons also opened their conference schedule over the weekend.
IHCC won 10-2 before losing 9-8 on Saturday; they swept Sunday's games, winning 10-0 and 6-3.
The Falcons took the series thanks to a five-run rally in the 5th inning of Sunday's second game. After tying the score at 3-all, IHCC went ahead for good on a two-run homer by freshman Mitch Langer.
The Falcons had a number of players who had strong offensive showings in the series, but none was better than outfielder Joel Booker. The sophomore went 9-for-12 in the four games with eight runs scored and 10 RBIs. Booker homered in the middle two games on the weekend and was in the middle of the game-winning rally in Sunday's game two with an RBI single.
Both Caleb Ratzman and Junior Santos had seven hits and Ratzman scored seven runs from his leadoff spot.
Mitch Langer was another Falcon who stepped up offensively with a 5-for-12 performance and seven RBIs. Langer homered in both games Sunday, a first-inning three-run shot in game one and the go-ahead two-run blast in the nightcap.
The Falcons set the tone for the weekend with a solid start in game one Saturday. They scored three runs in the 1st inning -- Booker and Dario Polanco had RBI singles -- and added four more in the second with Booker contributing a two-run single and Santos a run-scoring double. Ratzman had an RBI double in the 3rd and he walked and scored an insurance run in the 6th, coming home on Booker's single after stealing second and third.
Jesse Anderson gave the Falcons a strong start, going five innings and giving up five hits and two runs. Pedro Genao and Nick Green each threw a scoreless inning of relief.
The two teams combined to score nine runs in the 1st inning in the second game. After Muscatine tallied four in the top of the 1st, the Falcons plated five in the bottom of the inning. Langer had a two-run single, Santos and Luis Estevez each had RBI singles and Kyle Keck drove in the other run.
Booker broke a 5-5 tie with a solo homer in the 2nd and Ratzman had a run-scoring double to break a 6-6 tie in the 4th.
But MCC tied it in the 5th and took the lead with two more in the 6th.
IHCC got to within a run with an RBI single by Santos in the bottom of the 7th, but left the potential tying run at 3rd base and winning run at 1st on back-to-back popups that ended the game.
Cody Hinson took the loss in relief for the Falcons, despite striking out four in 2 1/3 innings.
Christian Torres looked like the all-region pitcher he was last year in the first game Sunday. Torres hurled five innings of two-hit, shutout baseball with eight Ks and one walk.
His teammates backed him with three home runs -- Langer's three-run blow in the 1st, and a solo shot by Jose Valdez and Booker's two-run bomb in the 4th.
Torres and reliever John Rodriguez permitted only four baserunners.
Muscatine looked like they might get away with a series split, taking a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 5th in the second game.
Edgar Lebron started things off for Indian Hills with a single and Ratzman doubled. Booker drove in a run with single and, after two walks and two errors tied the game at 3, Langer pounded a two-run homer to left-center. Booker then singled home an insurance run in the 6th.
Alsis Herrera was the winning pitcher, thanks to the 5th-inning comeback. In five innings, he gave up four hits and three earned runs. Jose Marin saved the victory with two innings of one-hit relief and four strikeouts.
The Falcons' season record is 19-9 and they will host Ellsworth CC in a varsity/JV doubleheader on Tuesday.