Millington, TN – The Indian Hills Baseball team opened up its 2024 campaign with an afternoon sweep at the Flag City Classic on Friday afternoon. The Warriors dropped John Wood Community College (IL) 9-7 in the opener before rallying to drop Lake Land Community College (IL) 10-6 in the nightcap.
The 63rd season of Indian Hills Baseball opened up for the second consecutive year in Millington, TN on Friday as the Warriors took part in the annual Flag City Classic. The Warriors broke a late tie with a pair of runs in the seventh inning in the opener against John Wood to pull away for the team's third season-opening win in the last four years. Indian Hills once again staged a late-game rally in game two, scoring five runs in the sixth inning to run away with a four-run victory over Lake Land.
Five players posted three hits on the day, including sophomore Logan Myers (Andover, MN/Andover), an All-Region performer from a year ago and freshman Taiyo Boily (Richmond, British Columbia/Hugh Boyd) who sparked the Warriors off the bench in game two. Indian Hills saw wins on the mound from sophomore Tomoki Jitsukawa (Tokyo, Japan/Tokai Sapporo) in the opener before freshman Kurtis Smith (Melbourne, Australia/Wantirna) twirled a gem in relief in game two.
In Friday's opener, the Warriors struck first in the second inning as Myers scored on a wild pitch after a leadoff single. Indian Hills doubled its lead in the third thanks to an RBI knock from Myers to score Dylan Sayles (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) for the 2-0 edge.
John Wood broke things open with four runs in the fourth only to see the Warriors respond with five runs in the top half of the fifth. Sayles delivered a run-scoring double while Myers collected his third hit of the day to bring in Sayles and knot the game at 4-all. A two-run JJ Dutton (Toronto, Canada/Forest Hill) triple followed by an RBI single from Zachari Pace (Colorado Springs, CO/Vista Ridge) put Indian Hills back on top, 7-4.
The Blazers responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game back at 7 apiece. The two sides traded scoreless innings in the sixth to set the stage for the Warrior rally. Raul Torres (Caguas, Puerto Rico/Leadership Christian Academy) came off the bench to deliver the biggest hit of the night, an RBI-triple to center to score Pace before coming around on an error for the two-run edge.
All-Region pitcher Nathan Smithburg (Fairfield, IA/Fairfield) closed the door in the seventh, punching out the final batter of the night for his first save of the year.
Myers finished the opener 3-4 at the plate while Pace and Endi Jaquez (Santiago, Dominican Republic/Radio Santa Maria) added two hits. Jitsukawa worked three innings of relief to pick up his second-career victory.
Game two saw the Warriors fall behind early after Lake Land put together a five-run first inning. Indian Hills cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the first with two runs on errant pitches and added two more in the third on a two-run double from Pace, scoring Dutton and Boily.
Indian Hills was able to stay within striking distance behind the dominant pitching performance from Smith. The freshman took the bump to start the second inning and silenced the Lakers' bats, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out five over five innings of relief, keeping Lake Land out of the scoring column.
Behind the backing of Smith, the Warriors tied the ballgame at 5-all after Sayles scored on a passed ball in the fifth inning. Indian Hills finaly broke the game open with five runs in the sixth to pull away. Jaquez, Sayles, and Boily delivered RBI base hits to help give Indian Hills a 10-5 advantage.
Smithburg, committed to the University of Oklahoma for next year, slammed the door in the seventh inning to give Indian Hills its second win of the afternoon.
Boily sparked the Warriors with a three-hit effort while Sayles collected a pair of knocks in the win. Pace finished with two RBI in the victory for the Warriors.
Indian Hills closes out play at the Flag City Classic Saturday with a pair of games against Lincoln Land Community College (IL) at 10:00 AM and St. Charles Community College (MO) at 1:30 PM.
Fans can catch all the action live: WATCH LIVE
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