Hot Springs, AR – Indian Hills Baseball opened up its weekend series against National Park College (AR) in dominant fashion on Thursday, sweeping the Nighthawks 19-3 and 25-3. The Warriors improve to 4-2 overall on the year.
In one of the most dominant offensive showings in recent memory, the Warriors toppled the Nighthawks in a pair of run-rule shortened affairs. The 25 runs scored in the nightcap are the most in a single contest since scoring 28 against Marshalltown Community College on May 28, 2022. The 44 combined runs in the doubleheader sweep are the most in a twinbill for the Warriors since tallying 45 runs in a pair of wins over Southwestern Community College on March 21, 2024.
Making its second road haul of the early season slate, the Warriors handled National Park convincingly on Thursday afternoon to open the four-game series. The opener saw Indian Hills connect on 10 hits, including six extra base knocks to upend the Nighthawks in the first all-time meeting between the two clubs. Indian Hills used an early 3-1 lead before playing three runs in the fourth, five in the fifth, and a season-high eight in the sixth frame alone to run away with the win.
Sophomore Diego Mendez (Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico/ESCAED), the reigning Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Athlete of the Week went 2-3 at the plate with a home run, three runs scored, and three RBI. Sophomore Callum Donnelly (Bulli, Australia / New Mexico JC) paced the offense with an impressive 4-4 performance at the dish with three runs scored, a double, and two triples.
Gage Perri (Andrews, TX/TCS Post Grad), Jose Lopez (Las Tablas, Panama/Springfield Commonwealth), Kevin Ramos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Springfield Commonwealth), and Jacob Pruitt (Bradford, Ontario/Bradford District) each added a pair of knocks to aid in the offensive onslaught for the Warriors.
Sophomore hurler Yuan-Kai Chang (Taipei, Taiwan/Taipei Dai) worked five innings on the mound with a season-high seven strikeouts to improve to 2-0 this season. Freshman Emmet Kelchen (Summit, WI/Kettle Moraine) added a scoreless frame in relief for the Warriors.
The offensive surge continued in game two for the Warriors as Indian Hills jumped out to a quick start and never relinquished its lead. The Warriors plated three runs in the opening frame before pounding out 12 runs in the third frame. Indian Hills tacked on four more in the fourth and six in the sixth for one of its most dominant offensive showings in recent memory.
Leading the attack was Lopez who produced a career effort for the Warriors. The sophomore finished the contest with a remarkable 4-5 performance at the plate with three home runs and 10 RBI to go along with three runs scored. The 10 RBI are the most for an Indian Hills individual dating back through the 2011 season.
Lopez opened the day with a two-run triple in the top half of the first before adding a two-run home run in the third. As part of the Warriors' strong showing in the third, Lopez added another roundtripper in the frame, a two-run shot to push the lead to 13-0. Lopez capped his stellar performance with a grand slam in the fourth to extend the advantage to 19-0.
Freshman Eliott Trudel (Trois-Rivieres, Quebec/Academic Les Estacades) aided in the attack with a season-best showing, going 3-4 with five RBI. Trudel tallied a home run and two doubles for the Warriors.
Pruitt, Donnelly, Ramos, Brody Geist (Arvada, CO/Standley Lake), JD Moffett (Omaha, NE/Millard West), and Boris Rodriguez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico/ESCAED) each recorded two hits in the game two victory.
In total, Indian Hills produced 11 extra base hits and 42 total bases in the game two win, the most in each category since the Warriors tallied 14 extra base knocks and 47 total bases in a 26-7 win over Marshalltown on March 29, 2021.
Freshman Maverick Scarpella (Thornton, CO/Broomfield) went five shutout innings for the Warriors with just two hits allowed to earn his first collegiate victory. Scarpella allowed just two base hits without issuing a walk.
Indian Hills and National Park return to action on Friday to wrap up the four-game series from Majestic Park in Hot Springs, AR. First pitch has been bumped up to a 12:00 PM start.
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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