The Hillcrest Academy Ravens (2-2, 2-2) baseball team will host the Lone Tree Lions (1-3, 2-5) in a Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division matchup in the KCII Area Game of the Week.
After a pair of blowout victories to open the season, taking down Wapello 10-0 and Danville 15-0, the Ravens took a beatdown of their own when Mediapolis beat them 16-1. A night ago, Hillcrest lost its first tightly-contested matchup of the year, allowing Van Buren County to come back late and defeat the Ravens 3-2.
Mason Bender has started his senior season off hot at the plate for Hillcrest, boasting a .625 batting average on 5 hits with two runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases.
Senior pitcher Phoenix Anderson looked stellar in his first appearance of the year on the mound, striking out seven hitters in five scoreless innings while taking home a win. Hillcrest’s defense has done a good job of supporting its pitching staff so far on the season, committing just three errors through its first three games.
Lone Tree is currently on a four game losing streak. A walk-off loss to Wapello started the skid for the Lions, who since then have lost their last three games by a combined margin of 43-0.
Lone Tree is led offensively by sophomore Brock Nebergall, who is hitting .375, has stolen 11 bases and has scored 3 runs on the season.
Despite the recent blowouts, Lone Tree has had bright spots on the mound. Nebergall and senior Maddox Jondle both hold perfect ERAs on the year, albeit in just a combined 7.1 inning of work. The Lions will look to minimize errors on Tuesday night, as they’ve already committed 18 so far this year.
Hillcrest has won nine of its last ten matchups against Lone Tree, as well as 13 of the last 15, dominating the matchup in a stretch that goes back to 2018.
You can catch this edition of the KCII area game of the week between the Ravens and the Lions streaming online at KCIIRadio.com on the KCII3 Stream and the KCII3 App. Coverage will begin with the Area Game of the Week Pregame Show at 7 p.m. and first pitch will be at 7:30.