Ravens get hot late in summer

Hillcrest wins 4 of final 5 games to show promise for 2021; Ours hits .382

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 7/31/20

The shortened summer season really began on June 26 for Hillcrest Academy’s baseball squad.

That night, junior shortstop Eli Ours had two hits and drove in two runs. Senior outfielder Kobe …

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Ravens get hot late in summer

Hillcrest wins 4 of final 5 games to show promise for 2021; Ours hits .382

Posted

The shortened summer season really began on June 26 for Hillcrest Academy’s baseball squad.

That night, junior shortstop Eli Ours had two hits and drove in two runs. Senior outfielder Kobe Borntrager added two hits and scored once. Josiah Beachy, a freshman, had two hits and scored three times. Junior pitcher London Schrock did not give up an earned run.

The Ravens defeated Louisa-Muscatine, 8-4, in Kalona and began a four-game win streak. The Ravens didn’t lose again until a Class 1A district tournament game against Lone Tree.

A 1-5 start was ancient history.

“The guys did a great job of adjusting to the short season and continued to improve throughout the year after a rough first week of games,” Hillcrest coach Danny Hershberger said.

After defeating Louisa-Muscatine, the Ravens topped Wapello, Mt. Union and Columbus, averaging nearly 10 runs per game.

Borntrager, a senior, finished off his final season with a .333 batting average and 8 RBIs. Drew Blauvelt had seven stolen bases and was never caught.

Borntrager and Blauvelt were the only seniors as the Ravens built toward the 2021 season with a strong group of underclassmen led by Ours, who led the team with a .382 batting average, 13 hits and 10 stolen bases. Ours also shined on the pitching mound, posting a 0.76 earned-run average with a team-high 24 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.

Luke Schrock, a freshman, hit .321, scored nine runs and had six RBIs. Noah Miller, a sophomore, was a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases.

London Schrock, a junior, had a 0.49 ERA with 13 strikeouts in three pitching appearances, likely setting up an Ours-London Schrock rotation for next year. Three other underclassmen also helped out in the pitching this year, along with seniors Borntrager and Blauvelt.