OTTUMWA, Iowa. – Division I Indiana Hills defeated No. 6 Parkland baseball on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, beating the Cobras 8-7 on Wednesday afternoon. Dropping to 19-8 overall, the Cobras were led by designated hitter
Jeremiah Lebron who had a team-high three RBI.
After reaching base five times and driving in five runs in the Tuesday doubleheader sweep of John Wood, Lebron continued his hot hitting this week with three more RBI on Wednesday. Since the start of April, Lebron has seven hits with three doubles, a home run and 12 RBI.
A battle of two-out hitting, nine of the 15 runs scored on Wednesday game with two outs, including each of the first eight runs.
Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the top of the fourth, a two-run double gave Parkland its first lead of the game. However, the lead would be short-lived, as a pair of bases-loaded walks put Indian Hills back in front, 3-2.
After a scoreless fifth inning, both sides recorded runs in the sixth inning. The Cobras tied the game in the top half on a two-out RBI single by
Corey Price. But, another bases-loaded walk in the bottom half would give the Warriors the lead back. A single following the walk added an insurance run, giving the hosts a 5-3 advantage.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the seventh, as the Cobras took the lead back with a four-run seventh inning. Parkland loaded the bases with no one out on an error, single and walk before a second walk plated a run. Lebron then stepped to the dish, and laced a bases-clearing double to left field, scoring three, for a 7-5 Cobra lead. Still threatening, the Warriors escaped any further damage with an inning-ending double play.
After a shutdown seventh inning that saw catcher
Robert Barnard throw out two base would-be base stealers, Indian Hills again battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Loading the bases with no one out, the Warriors used a single and fielder's choice to drive in the two runs. Keeping the score tied, a pair of strikeouts kept the Warriors from taking the lead.
The Cobras sat down two of the first three Warrior batters in the bottom of the ninth, but three consecutive singles scored the winning run for Indian Hills.
Up next, the Cobras will open a four-game series against Spoon River this weekend, beginning with a Saturday (4/13) doubleheader in Canton, Ill., at 1 p.m. central time. The two sides will finish the series on Sunday (4/14) in Champaign at 1 p.m.
