Hillcrest reaches 1A district title game

9-7 victory over North Cedar advances Ravens to showdown vs. Lisbon

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 7/15/21

RIVERSIDE

Noah Miller of Hillcrest Academy began the first inning with a single.

Eli Ours and Miller stole bases.

Luke Schrock drove home both runners with a double.

It was the …

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Hillcrest reaches 1A district title game

9-7 victory over North Cedar advances Ravens to showdown vs. Lisbon

Posted

RIVERSIDE

Noah Miller of Hillcrest Academy began the first inning with a single.

Eli Ours and Miller stole bases.

Luke Schrock drove home both runners with a double.

It was the kind of energetic start that helped the Ravens defeat North Cedar in a Class 1A baseball playoff game on Tuesday night at Highland High School, and the kind of start the Ravens would like to get in their District 6 title game Saturday night against Lisbon.

The Ravens scored six runs in the first inning of their 9-7 victory over North Cedar.

“We had great at-bats in the first inning and did a great job of being patient and getting good pitches to hit, and then hitting the ball hard when we got a good pitch to hit,” Hillcrest head coach Danny Hershberger said.

Lisbon (23-13) has given up a total of six runs in its last five games – not one inning. The Lions have won two playoff games by a combined 23-1 and defeated Lone Tree 7-1 on Tuesday to reach Saturday’s final at Lisbon City Park. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

“We are excited to be back playing in a district championship game,” Hershberger said. “Lisbon is a very good team that statistically is similar to our team. We are going to have to play a complete game to come away with the win.”

The Ravens are just two wins away from advancing to the Class 1A state tournament, which begins July 26 at Merchants Stadium in Carroll. A win Saturday would send Hillcrest to a substate final on Tuesday against No. 2-ranked North Linn or Maquoketa Valley.

The Ravens took a 7-0 lead in the district semifinal against North Cedar, but needed a two-run single by Jace Rempel in the sixth inning to grab a victory. North Cedar scored one run in the fourth inning, two runs in the fifth and four runs in the sixth to tie the score at 7-7.

Rempel’s hit was his fourth in two playoff games. He has driven in five runs in the tournament and scored four times. He has a .403 batting average, one of three Ravens hitting over .400 this season.

“Jace Rempel has been swinging the bat really well and came through with a big hit to give us the lead back in the sixth inning,” Hershberger said.

Miller had three hits, two stolen bases and scored twice. Ours also scored twice.

Miller also struck 10 as he started the game for the Ravens on the pitching mound. He gave up just one earned run, going 4.1 innings before being replaced by Luke Schrock in the fifth inning.

“Noah Miller did a fantastic job on the mound, keeping their hitters off balance by mixing his pitches and location effectively,” Hershberger said.

“Defensively, we did not play as well as we would have liked, but I am proud of our guys for staying mentally tough and finishing the game strong.”

Hillcrest committed five errors, leading to four unearned North Cedar runs.

Hillcrest Academy, baseball, Ravens