Centerville -- Jared Spearing threw six shutout innings and put Indian Hills in position for its lone win in a weekend series with conference-leading Iowa Western at Pat Daugherty Field. Spearing gave up just four hits and two walks and struck out four, and left with the Falcons leading 2-0 in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader. Reliever Zachary Fascia allowed an unearned run and walked two, but got out of the 7th-inning jam and the Falcons escaped with a 2-1 win. Iowa Western won the second game of the twinbill, 6-1, after sweeping the Falcons on Saturday, 8-4 and 2-1.
Iowa Western's pitching did a good job of holding the potent IHCC offense in check. The Falcons amassed only 15 hits in the three games they lost and had only five extra-base hits the entire weekend.
Iowa Western dealt Indian Hills one heart-breaking loss, the 2-1 defeat Saturday. The Reivers broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the 7th against IHCC starter Oracio DeLeon. Caleb Miley got the last two outs after the Reivers had scored what turned out to be the game-winning run. Indian Hills was limited to three hits -- a double by Jacob Rhinesmith and singles from Will Zimmerman and Fascia. Hunter Capps scored the only run.
In the opening game of the series, Iowa Western chased across five runs in the 2nd and three in the 5th after the Falcons grabbed a quick 2-0 lead. Capps had two of IHCC's seven hits and Lane Harvey had two RBIs, while Ryan Humeniuk and Dillon Nelson each drove in one run. Jacob Thiessen, the IHCC starting pitcher, gave up eight runs, five of them earned, in suffering his first loss of the spring. Joshmar Doran fired two scoreless innings of relief.
The last game of the weekend saw Indian Hills held without a hit until Nelson singled to center in the 4th. Two innings later the sophomore accounted for the lone run with a home run, tying Rhinesmith for the team lead with eight. Zachary Lauzon started and absorbed the loss. Tristan Ledger, out of the bullpen, retired four of the five hitters he faced.
Indian Hills goes to Iowa Falls to play Ellsworth on Tuesday then travels to Marshalltown for a four-game league series next weekend.