The Hillcrest Academy Ravens (14-7) and the Highland Huskies (12-9) both won via the run rule in Riverside Monday night, setting the sides on a collision course for their third matchup of the season on Tuesday.
The Ravens led off the night against the HLV Warriors (6-11) with an early lead, taking advantage of three first-inning walks and two first-inning errors to establish a 4-0 lead. Star Ravens pitcher Seth Ours surrendered a moonshot home run in the top of the second, but his offense immediately picked him back up, plating a trio of runs off of four more walks in the bottom half of the frame.
The Ravens put the rest of the game on cruise control, as Ours regained his usual dominance, allowing only a single base runner in the final four innings in the form of a walk. Hillcrest continued to tack on runs, extending the lead inning-by-inning, until a Mason Bender sacrifice fly plated Phoenix Anderson to make the score 12-2 and end the game.
Ours earned the win for his efforts, surrendering two runs, both earned, on two hits and one walk while picking up three strikeouts.
Offensively, eight of the nine Ravens in the lineup both reached base and scored. Lincoln Miller led the way with three RBIs and a run scored in a two-for-three effort, while Mason Bender flipped his line, scoring three times and knocking in one RBI on a one-for-three night, reaching on a walk and a fielders’ choice in the process.
In the nightcap, English Valleys (0-18) briefly showed a spark, leading off the game with back-to-back hits and jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but that was where the positives ended for the Bears.
Highland rattled off 17 unanswered runs, knocking starting pitcher Will Luers out of the game after recording just a single out. A flurry of free bases helped the Husky offense, as they reached base on seven hit by pitches, four walks and three errors. They plated six runs in the first inning, three in the second, and eight in the fourth to mercy rule the Bears in four innings with a final score of 17-2.
Every Husky either scored a run or recorded an RBI Monday night, with catcher Garrett Beeson leading the way with three RBIs. Ryker Miller was similarly effective, scoring three runs while knocking in a pair of runs in a one-for-two effort.
Colten Sypherd earned the win, giving up two runs on two hits and one walk while collecting five strikeouts in four innings of work. Sypherd described what it’s like pitching with an offense as potent as Highland’s was Monday night, “It’s electric. We just keep going and going and going. You don’t know what the next hitter’s going to do and it’s a guessing game of what’s going to happen.
Highland will look to avenge its losses to Hillcrest Tuesday night. The Ravens secured the Southeast Iowa Superconference North Division Championship by winning back-to-back games over Highland late last month.
Lincoln Miller described what he thought the Ravens would need to do to come out victorious on Tuesday, “We’re going to come out early, come out hard and play our game.”
The second round between the division rivals will be broadcast on FM 106.1, with the KCII Area Game of the Week Pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. and first pitch between the Ravens and Huskies scheduled for 7 live from Riverside.