WARRIORS CONTINUE TO ROLL, SWEEP SPARTANS AT HOME
March 24, 2026
Centerville, IA – The Indian Hills Baseball team kept its unbeaten record at Pat Daugherty Field intact as the Warriors swept their Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) doubleheader with Southwestern Community College on Tuesday afternoon. Indian Hills moves to 17-8 overall on the year and 2-0 in league play.
The Warriors took both ends of Tuesday’s twinbill, 12-5 and 6-5 thanks in large part to timely hitting and effective pitching out of the bullpen. Indian Hills scored 12 unanswered runs in the opener before a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth in the nightcap to secure the sweep.
Indian Hills has now won eight consecutive home games to open the new year, the program’s longest streak at Pat Daugherty Field to kick off a new season since the 2007 squad won nine in a row. With the sweep, Indian Hills has now won seven consecutive games, its longest winning streak of the year. The Warriors have defeated Southwestern 29 consecutive times, including 20 straight at Pat Daugherty Field.
Tuesday’s opener saw Southwestern stake an early 5-0 advantage through two and a half innings of play, but the Warrior offense came to life in the home half of the third. Freshman Gage Perri (Andrews, TX/TCS Post Grad), the ICCAC DI Baseball Athlete of the Week, sent a three-run home run to deep left center field to cut into the deficit. Sophomore Callum Donnelly (Bulli, Australia/New Mexico JC) followed up with a two-run home run in the fourth to even the game at 5-all.
The Warriors took advantage of a number of Southwestern miscues with two outs in the fifth to push the eventual go-ahead run across the plate on a wild pitch. The Warriors tacked on three runs in the fifth and four in the sixth, including RBI knocks from Diego Mendez (Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico/ESCAED), Maverick Scarpella (Thornton, CO/Broomfield), and Ty Easley (Conroe, TX/College Park) to secure the game one victory.
Donnelly capped the opener with a 3-4 effort at the plate while driving in three runs while Mendez added two more knocks for the Warriors.
Making his second relief appearance in as many games, freshman Ethan Martin (Milton, Ontario/Craig Kielburger Secondary) secured the win on the mound for the second consecutive matchup. Martin scattered three hits in 2.1 innings of work before Dylan Raines (Austin, TX/Lake Travis) earned the save with 1.2 innings of shutout ball.
Game two saw the Warriors strike first with a run in the first frame before Donnelly delivered another home run in the bottom of the second, a three-run shot to left. Freshman Dryden Pidlisny (Medicine Hat, Alberta/South Central) pushed the lead to 5-0 with an RBI single down the left field line.
Southwestern chipped away at the deficit and eventually tied the ballgame at 5-5 in the seventh. The two squads battled over the next two frames to set the stage for another potential walk-off win for the Warriors.
Indian Hills, who secured a walk-off victory on Sunday against Northeast Iowa Community College, loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth to put the pressure on the Spartans. The Warriors eventually hit paydirt on a wild pitch as Victor Mijares (Puerto Cabello, Venezuela/Springfield Commonwealth) darted to the plate for the game-winning run.
Connor Griess (Loveland, CO/Loveland) secured the win in relief with another dominant performance. Griess retired six consecutive batters over the final two frames to secure his first collegiate victory on the mound.
Donnelly paced the offense with two more hits for the Warriors. The sophomore has been on a tear as of late, boasting a .594 batting average (19-32) during a season-long eight game hit streak. During the stretch, Donnelly has produced five home runs, 13 RBI, and 16 runs scored to go along with seven stolen bases.
Indian Hills and Southwestern resume play as part of the ICCAC four-game conference series with a doubleheader in Creston, IA on Thursday afternoon.
