Council Bluffs, IA
Iowa Western baseball took advantage of a beautiful early March forecast on Wednesday afternoon as Des Moines Area Community College came to town for a mid-week doubleheader. The series, originally scheduled for St. Patrick's Day, was moved ahead to accommodate Mother Nature's fickle spring mood and what a day for baseball it was.
DMACC began the day with three straight singles to start the game but were held to just one run after starter Zachary Miller locked down on the bump. Iowa Western would strike back immediately in the bottom half of the inning as catcher Nick Juaire smacked a 2-run single to plate the Reivers' middle infield duo of Cooper Bowman and Sam Riola.
After a quite top half in the second, it was Juaire again who provided the damage, homering to right-center to bring home Thomas Bean and Bowman for a 5-3 Reiver advantage.
After DMACC rallied for a pair of runs in the top of the third, the Reiver 'O' again went to work against Bears' pitching. Noah Hull brought Colin Kasperbauer in on an RBI-groundout before Bean hit a ball over the right fielder's' head and using his speed to come in for a 2-run inside-the-park home run. Bean had been limited with an early-season injury but appeared at full strength as he rounded the bases.
The Reivers would hold the advantage for the remainder of the game. Jake Leger came on in relief and pitched four solid innings to help Miller get his first win of the season and Iowa Western took advantage of DMACC miscues for four late runs in the 12-5 game one victory.
Game two featured former teammates in the Reivers Cooper Bowman and DMACC starting pitcher Kolton Scherbenske. The two played together in Rapid City, South Dakota before the Scherbenske's moved to the Des Moines area.
A scoreless first gave way to a Jackson Fisher homer in the second to give the Bears another 1-0 lead on the day. However, just like game one, the Reivers struck quickly to take the lead. The Reivers would use miscues and free passes to plate three runs on just one hit in the inning. Henry Zipay's single and a throwaway by the DMACC third baseman allowed Cyler Melvin, Aaron Gerdes and Nathan Berg all to come across for a 3-1 IWCC lead.
DMACC added a run in the third to close the gap, but excellent pitching from both Caleb Riedel and Evan O'Toole kept the Reivers in front.
A Cyler Melvin sac-fly in the fourth gave the Reivers some insurance before Juaire tripled and Derek Shoen scored on a DMACC error in the fifth for the final 6-2 margin.
The wins allowed the Reivers to stay unbeaten at home, which also coincides with their six-game winning streak.
IWCC will face Ellsworth beginning Thursday for a pair of doubleheaders at Doc Ross Field. First pitch scheduled for 1:00 pm, the game can be seen on the Reiver Sports Network - https://goreivers.com/information/reiver-sports-network
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