An early setback didn’t have much of an effect on Hillcrest junior Luke Schrock during the Ravens’ 5-3 win over Wapello on Wednesday. 

Schrock’s third pitch of the game was smashed over the fence in right center field by Wapello senior Tate Kronfeldt. 

Schrock responded by retiring 17 of the next 18 batters. He did not allow another hit until Hillcrest had a 5-1 lead in the seventh inning.

“I just realized I had to keep my fastball down so they couldn't drive it,” Schrock said. “And I did, there were a few that I got away with when I went back up in their zone. My curveball was working early in the game, but kind of fell off towards the end. And so I had to rely a little bit more on my fastball, but we were able to get through it.”

Schrock’s three hits at the plate matched the total number that he gave up in seven innings. 

He singled, stole second base, and scored in the first inning to tie the game at 1-1, and did it again in the fifth inning to give the Ravens their first lead. 

His bases-loaded double in the sixth inning gave the Ravens three insurance runs, which proved to be crucial in the seventh. 

Jace Rempel was 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in the first two runs for Hillcrest

“I was just looking for a first-pitch fastball, and I hit the first pitch in the count,” Rempel said about his key fifth-inning at bat. “I was just looking for a strike to take anywhere for a base hit.”

Rempel made two plays at third base in the third innings for outs, including a diving stop and long throw to first to rob the Indians of a hit. 

The home run and a hit batter were the only baserunners for Wapello through six innings.

“The biggest thing was Luke just continued to throw strikes and pitch extremely well for us,” Hillcrest coach Danny Hershberger said. “He’s kind of been that guy that’s got to step up and get it done on the mound — especially when we're not scoring runs. He gives us a lot of confidence on the mound and the guys are playing some really good defense.”

Liam Schrock drew two walks and scored a run. Mason Bender singled, reached on an error and scored a run as well. 

“I thought we did an excellent job of adjusting to some different pitchers and coming through with a big hit there to extend the lead,” Hershberger said. 

The Indians used four pitchers on Wednesday, while Schrock threw 12 or fewer pitches in five of the seven innings and finished with a pitch count of 87.

That's what can happen when you're throwing strikes and playing good defense behind the pitcher,” Hershberger said. “That's huge for us, especially with as many games in as few days as we have. To only have to throw 80-some pitches, and throw a full game doing that — that's a huge bonus for our team.”