WAPELLO

Wapello aimed to even the score against Hillcrest, but alas, similar to their game earlier in the season, the Ravens proved to be too much for the Indians to handle.

Strengthening their position at the top of the conference, the Ravens (14-3) went on the road and spoiled the senior night of the Wapello Indians (3-16) with a 19-5 victory on June 27. 

Making it three wins in a row, the Ravens swept the Indians and improved their conference leading record to 8-1. 

After Hillcrest scored a single run in the first, Wapello took the lead with five runs in the third, but the Ravens defense clamped down after this scoring spree, giving up no more runs for the rest of the game. 

Now trailing, the Ravens responded in a big way. Hillcrest scored seven in the fourth to take back the lead, put up four runs in the fifth, and then had another seven-run inning in the sixth to win the game by mercy rule. 

It was a great afternoon at bat for Hillcrest junior Seth Ours. Turning into an RBI machine, Ours led the Ravens with five runs batted in. He also scored three runs himself and went two for three at bat with his two hits being singles. 

Going a perfect three for three at bat was sophomore Rowan Miller. He also had two RBIs. Through 17 games Miller leads the Ravens with 23 hits. 

Collecting his second win on the mound this season was junior Phoenix Anderson. Anderson threw a total of 97 pitches, striking out three, giving up five hits, and allowing four walks. 

Hillcrest 5, Louisa-Muscatine 3

It was a conference clinching win for Hillcrest (15-3) when they went on the road and defeated the Louisa-Muscaitne Falcons (5-15) on July 1.

For the second year in a row, the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North crown belongs to the Ravens who improved their conference record to 9-1 with this win.     

In this contest that needed two days to complete because of a weather delay, both teams kept it close early, with Hillcrest holding a 3-2 lead after three innings played. After a scoreless fourth, the Ravens took a firm hold on the contest by adding two more runs to their lead.

 The Falcons could only muster up one more run in the sixth before Hillcrest shut them out in the top of the seventh to preserve their victory. 

Pitching in all seven innings to collect the win on the mound was Rowan Miller. The Hillcrest sophomore retired three batters, gave up four hits, and allowed one walk.  

Playoff preview

Getting to stay at home to open the postseason tournament, the Ravens (15-3) will face off against the HLV Warriors (1-13) in first round playoff action on July 6.  

Taking place in the district 12 bracket, this is a IHSAA 1A Substate First Round matchup. To make it to state, the Ravens will have to win a total of four games and HLV is their first test. 

There is not much history between these two teams with their last and only matchup taking place in 2009, a game Hillcrest won with a final score of 14-0. 

Through 14 games, the Warriors average 4.4 runs a game and allow 9.6 runs. They have a record of 1-6 at home and are winless on the road with a record of 0-7. 

On offense HLV is led by senior Boston York. York leads the team with 21 hits and has hit the team’s only home run of the season. When it comes to bringing in the scores, freshman Bryer Jack has a team leading 10 RBIs. 

Seeing the most playing time at the pitcher position for HLV is senior Max Henstorf and sophomore Keegan Gorsh. Gorsh, who has a record of 1-5, has 14 strikeouts and Henstorf, who has a record of 0-3, had a team leading 25 strikeouts.

The Ravens have a home record of 9-1 and a road record of 6-2. They average 9.1 runs per game and give up 3.8 runs a game. 

With a batting average of .469, Rowan Miller leads the Ravens with a team high 23 hits. Another big-time hitter for Hillcrest is Liam Schrock, who has a batting average of .375 and has tallied 21 hits. 

Miller is also a stellar pitcher for Hillcrest. He has a 4-0 pitching record, striking out 23 batters, and has an ERA of 2.47. Seth Ours is also a threat on the mound. He has a 4-1 pitching record, striking out 22 batters, and has an ERA of 2.69.

The winner of this first round game will advance to the second round to face off against either BGM (15-7) or Wapello (3-16) on June 9. .