The Hillcrest Academy Raven baseball and softball teams welcome the Wapello Indians and Arrows to Kalona tonight for a pair of Southeast Iowa Superconference contests. The Raven girls are 1-0 after a 13-8 win at Packwood and looking to build on offensive success that saw them score in six of the seven innings Tuesday night, pounding out 12 hits, including five for extra bases, drawing nine walks and stealing five bases. Four Hillcrest batters had multi-hit nights including Malia Yoder with three, three runs scored and three RBI, Marryn Boshart with two and four RBI and Erin Bontrager and Ella Mize with two hits and an RBI each. Delaney Shaw belted a homer. Yoder got the win in the circle working all seven frames with nine hits, eight runs, two earned and eight strikeouts.
Wapello dropped their opener at home Tuesday 6-2 to Columbus, despite two hits each from Mila Jordan, Quinn Zweibohmer, and Macey Kuntz and RBI from Zweibohmer and Taeya Wagner. Zweibohmer and Jordan combined on the night in the circle to work all seven with seven hits, four earned runs, a dozen punchouts and two walks. Wapello has won 22 of the last 30 in the series, including 20 straight and all three last year by a combined 24-6 score. The Ravens last win came in 2013.
This is the season opener for Hillcrest baseball. They were 16-5 last season, 9-2 champions of the North Division of the Superconference, their second straight division title. The Ravens hit .273 as a team with a .421OBP and .363 slug, scoring 174 runs on 156 hits, 136RBI, 125 walks and 157 strikeouts. On the mound, the Ravens had a team ERA of 3.04 with a 1.29 staff WHIP, surrendering a .233 opponent average on 129 hits, 60 earned runs, 50 walks and 114 strikeouts. Hillcrest brings back their entire roster from a season ago, including seven All-Superconference selections in Liam Schrock, Seth Ours, Rowan Miller, Phoenix Anderson, Mason Helmuth, Mason Bender and Lawson Schrock. Miller and Liam Schrock were named All-District and Danny Hershberger was named Superconference Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Hershberger talked this week about what has him excited for the season.
Hershberger said, “The experience that we have and the excitement the guys are bringing to practice every day. They want to get better and want to have another really good season and they are putting in the hard work to get there. Hitting has been better each practice and we want to continue to improve that. This time of year it’s about early success, in the cage, in the field, or live at bats, and what we have done has been encouraging so far.”
Wapello baseball has been busy. They are 0-3 on the season, outscored by Wilton, BGM and West Burlington by a combined 44-0 in three games. The Indians are hitting .111 as a team with a .286OBP, five total hits, eight walks and 31 strikeouts. Max Dopler, Wyatt Marlette, Grayson Nagle, Wyatt Strawhacker and Kinnick Richenberger have one hit each. Wapello’s team ERA is 11.05 with a WHIP over four. Opponents hit .317 against their staff with 32 total hits, 20 earned runs, 20 walks and five strikeouts. Coy Wiley is the ERA leader at 2.33. Hillcrest has won 23 of the last 29 in the series, including 13 straight, with the last Indian victory in 2017. Baseball is at 5:30 with softball at 7p.m. Thursday In Kalona.