The Iowa Western baseball program does the unthinkable and finishes 27-0 in ICCAC to advance to the Northern District Tournament.
GAME 1
The Reivers opened up tournament play with a 9-1 (7-inning) victory over the #4 seeded Southwestern Spartans. RS/FR Jayden Kruse (North Platte, NE) got the nod as he threw 6 innings allowing 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 8 before handing the ball off to Isaiah Peterson (FR, Lincoln, NE) who threw the final inning sending 2 back to the dugout. Offensively, Brandon Bena (SO, Omaha, NE) went 4-4 with a 2B, a HR, 4 RBIs, and 2 Runs scored. Freshman Ronald Sweeny III (Woodbury, MN) also added 2 hits in 3 plate appearances knocking in 2.
GAME 2
In the Championship Semis, Iowa Western took out the #3 seeded Marshalltown Tigers by a score of 11-1 (5-innings). Sophomore Indigo Diaz (Vancouver, BC, Can) went the distance spreading 3 hits across his 5 innings of work sending 7 Tigers back to the bench. Sophomore Tanner Holen (Manhattan, KS) went 2-3 with a 2B, RBI, and Run Scored while Ryan Sullivan went 1-2 with a 3 RBI 2B and 2 BBs, adding 2 Runs of his own. Hagen Holmstead (SO, American Fork, UT) and Tyler Reichenborn (SO, Brooklyn Park, MN) both added 2 hits in 3 appearances as well.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Iowa Western squared off against the #2 seeded Falcons of Indian Hills in the Championship Game where the Reivers walked away with the Hardware in a 6-1 victory. Redshirt-Sophomore Sean Chandler (Bellevue, NE) was absolutely dominant in 8 innings of work. Chandler allowed just 3 hitters on base while striking out 14 in the process. Keaton Winn (SO, Ollie, IA) came in for the 9th and shut the door on the Falcons in 4 hitters. Kobe Hyland (SO, Spruce Grove, ALB, Can) lead the offense with 2 Hits, 2 Runs, and 2 RBIs.
Iowa Western will host Wabash Valley, Olney Central, and Triton College in the Northern District Tournament for their chance to punch a ticket to Grand Junction, CO for the JUCO World Series. The Games will be played at Doc Ross Field on the Campus of Iowa Western starting Friday May 18th.