Council Bluffs, IA—
The 5th ranked Reivers started their postseason run on Saturday with the first round of the Division 1 ICCAC tournament. The Reivers played hosted Marshalltown CC at Doc Ross Field.
Game 1, Freshman Ernie Day took the ball for the Reivers in his postseason debut. The Tigers were the first to get on the board with an RBI groundout in the 3rd. In the bottom of the third Iowa Western bounced back with Carter Wright singling home centerfielder Kyle Huckstorf to tie the game at 1. In the 4th the Tigers regained the lead after a passed ball to score a run from 3rd base to make it 2-1. It stayed 2-1 till the 8th when the Reiver offense finally broke through. Thatcher Kozal was hit by a pitch, Logan Jordan then pinch hit and drove a double to score Kozal to tie it at 2. Then Sophomore Aaron Staehley scored pinch runner Treyton Kozal to make it 3-2 Reivers. Jaden Brown and Ben Palmer added RBI's to make it 5-2 headed to the 9th. Iowa Western was buoyed by a fantastic pitching performance by Day and Will Stevens. The duo combined for sixteen punchouts and only 2 walks. Stevens pitched the last four innings and struck out nine and gave up one hit and picked up his fourth win in the process. Iowa Western won game 1 5-2 and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Game 2, Sophomore Righthander Peyton Zabel drew the start for Iowa Western. The big righty struck out six in 6.1 innings and gave up two earned runs. In game two, Iowa Western was the road team, and in the top of the 4th finally broke through. Freshman 3rd baseman Chase Spoonemore tripled home two runs with two outs to give Iowa Western a 2-0 lead. Marshalltown would answer back, with two runs in the 5th to tie it at 2-2. In the 7th however, Iowa Western took the lead for good with an RBI by Dayvin Johnson and then a two RBI triple for Logan Jordan to make it 5-2. Iowa Western added 3 more in the 9th with RBI'S from Spoonemore and Staehley. Freshman Harrison Cook welcomed the run support, the Right-handed pitcher pitched the last two and two-thirds innings and struck out 2 and gave up no runs to move Iowa Western on to the next round.
The Reivers (49-8) now play Indian Hills CC this Friday May 14th at Doc Ross Field. First pitch this Friday is scheduled for noon, game 2 will start at around 3pm. If necessary, the Reivers and the Warriors will play Saturday at noon. All games can be watched on the Reiver Sports Network.
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Twitter | https://twitter.com/ReiverBaseball
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/Reiverbaseball
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/iowawesternbaseball/
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