Ravens don’t waver against Wolves

KALONA — Hillcrest Academy and Winfield Mt. Union baseball slugged it out Tuesday in a Southeast Iowa Super Conference North battle.

The night saw Hillcrest picking up the 6-3 victory over WMU, but not after the Wolves jumped on a lead early.

After a back and forth first inning, which saw runners from both teams find the base pads, it was Winfield that struck first in the second.

WMU brought a pair of runners 360 feet around the bases to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the second.

The Wolves lead was short-lived though as the Ravens answered right back with a trio of runs in the third.

“Great job by our guys to comeback after getting down two early and scoring three in the next half inning,” Hillcrest Academy head coach Daniel Hershberger said. “Love the guys for fighting back like that.”

After tying it 2-2, Luke Schrock brought the game leading run home with a line drive to right field, giving the Ravens a 3-2 advantage.

Hillcrest Academy shut out WMU in the next four innings and during that time put three additional runs on the board.

In the bottom of the third, an RBI sac fly to center by Noah Miller gave Josiah Beachy an open trot across home plate, making it 4-2.

The Ravens took sole control with two more runs added to their total in the bottom of the fourth.

With the bases juiced, Seth Ours sent the ball directly down the third baseline. The Wolves corralled the ball, but what would have been an end to the inning at first turned into a pair of runs for Hillcrest as the ball popped out of the first baseman’s glove.

Leading 6-2, the Ravens didn’t score again in three innings. Despite the Wolves getting one back in the seventh, they couldn’t bring it back even.

Luke Schrock led the Ravens with a pair of hits and two RBIs in the win. Liam Schrock, Mason Bender and Rowan Miller each had hits as well. Bender and Miller each brought one run in.

Jace Rempel was victorious on the hill, giving up three runs on six hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

“Jace did a really nice job on the mound of settling down after those first couple of innings, and I thought our defense made some great plays behind him,” Hershberger said. “Really proud of the effort from our guys.”

The Ravens get back to .500 (10-10) with the win. They will take on Danville on Thursday.

Winfield drops to 2-17 on the season. They will open postseason play against West Liberty (11-2) on Saturday.