Centerville -- It was a disappointing ending to a very fine season for the Indian Hills Falcons in the Region 11 postseason tournament at Pat Daugherty Field on Saturday. The Falcons had seemingly clinched a spot in the district tournament with a 9-7 decision against Marshalltown CC in the second game of the opening day of the double-elimination tourney. The loss was the second for MCC, which would have knocked them out of further competition and ensured IHCC of finishing either first or second, thereby claiming a spot in the district tourney with the top two teams from Region 11 advancing.
However, it was ruled after the Falcons' apparent win that they had used a player, Jose Marin, who wasn't on the official postseason roster and that they would have to forfeit the game. A subsequent 8-0 loss to eventual region champ Iowa Western brought an abrupt end to the season for Indian Hills.
In a game that it turned out they had to win to stay alive in the three-team tournament, Indian Hills was completely handcuffed by Iowa Western righthander Quinn Carpenter. Carpenter fired a one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts. The lone IHCC hit was a bunt single by Caleb Ratzman leading off the 4th inning. Indian Hills managed only two other baserunners, on a pair of walks as Carpenter completely shut down the potent Falcon offense.
Iowa Western scored seven runs in the first four innings against IHCC starter Derek Kawlewski, who was knocked out after 3 1/3 innings. The other run scored against reliever Joelfi Arias.
The Reivers scored three times in the 1st and added four runs in the 4th. The Falcons didn't help matters committing four errors.
The game with Marshalltown saw Indian Hills break a 7-7 tie with two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Marin came on to close out the game with a scoreless 9th, but the fact he was omitted from the postseason roster was brought to the attention of the IHCC coaching staff after the game.
Dario Polanco led the offense against the Tigers with a 4-for-4 performance and three RBIs. Junior Santos, Edgar Lebron and Joel Fuentes each had two hits and Fuentes scored three runs.
Fuentes doubled and scored on Polanco's single for the first IHCC tally. Santos had a solo homer in the 3rd to give IHCC a brief one-run lead. After MCC went ahead with three in the top of the 4th, Lebron singled and scored on Fuentes' RBI double and Ratzman had a run-scoring hit to tie the game at 4-4.
IHCC had a three-run 5th that included an RBI single by Polanco and a couple of errors by the Tigers, two of six they committed.
The two Indian Hills runs that snapped the 7-all tie in the bottom of the 8th were the result of two more errors.
Christian Torres, who had shut out MCC the previous weekend, allowed four runs in five innings this time around against the Tigers. Cody Hinson went three innings in relief before Marin entered in the 9th.
The losses put the Falcons' final season record at 38-17, the most victories in a single season since the 2010 campaign.