Centerville -- Indian Hills won the first and last games and Marshalltown took the middle two contests in a conference four-game weekend series at Pat Daugherty Field. The Falcons won by scores of 2-1 and 13-3. The Tigers wins were 10-4 and 2-0.
The results mean the two teams will meet again next weekend -- IHCC as the number-two seed and MCC as the three seed -- in the first round of the Region 11 postseason tournament in Muscatine.
An error on a ground ball back to the pitcher allowed Indian Hills to walk away with the 2-1 victory in the series opener against Marshalltown. Jake Lewis led off the bottom of the 7th in a 1-1 game with an opposite field double. Pinch-runner Ryan Shull went to third base on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on the throwing error by the Tigers' Austin Gridley.
Lewis' hit was one of only four the Falcons collected against Gridley, who struck out nine. Travis Neubeck was equally as tough on the mound for the Falcons with a complete-game six-hitter. He struck out six and walked only one in posting his 6th win of the year in eight decisions.
Indian Hills broke a scoreless tie with a run in the 4th, driven in by Lewis, and MCC tied it in the 6th on a solo homer by Engel Rosario.
After a lengthy rain delay between games, the Tigers jumped on IHCC starter Johno Rodriguez in game two. They scored six runs in the 1st and added two more in the 2nd. Rosario had another homer for Marshalltown and Mike Levar went deep for IHCC, a three-run shot in the 5th.
The Falcons got good work out of their bullpen with the quintet of Jesse Anderson, Jordan Magers, Jacob Bruget, Mitch Langer and Jacob Dilks combining to hold MCC without an earned run over the final 5 1/3 innings.
Indian Hills managed only nine hits in the two games on Saturday and their offense was still quiet in the first game on Sunday. The Falcons were held in check by MCC's Joel Lopez, who allowed only a 4th inning single to Levar. He wasn't overpowering, striking out only two batters, but Levar's hit was the only baserunner for the Falcons.
Bryan Ventura got the Tigers on the scoreboard with a solo homer in the 3rd and they added another run on an RBI double by Rosario the next inning.
IHCC rebounded to take the last game of the series, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead and then pulling away with a pair of four-run innings.
Olivier Basabe had a two-run double and Austin Irvin a run-scoring triple, both with two outs, in the 1st inning. After Marshalltown tied the game with three unearned runs against IHCC starter Trevor Kiminski in the 2nd, Levar's two-RBI single broke the tie in the bottom of the 2nd and Joel Fuentes scored on an error.
Basabe picked up another RBI on a double and Ben Reznicek had a two-run single as the Falcons widened the margin. Levar later continued his hot hitting with another two-run single.
Kiminski worked around the early three unearned runs to go five strong innings, with six strikeouts. David Kroger finished up for the Falcons.
Indian Hills ends the regular season with a 29-26 record. The Falcons were 13-11 in the region.
They will take on Marshalltown in the opening game for both in the Region 11 tourney on Friday afternoon at 2:00. The double-elimination affair will be played in Muscatine.