Both the Ravens’ offense and defense were clicking in high gear during their 10-0 shutout win over the Louisa-Muscatine Falcons on June 13. This was a battle between two teams in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference and with this win Hillcrest stays perfect in the conference at 7-0 and its overall record jumps to 10-2.  

Coming into this game Hillcrest was fresh off its second loss of the season, losing 8-4 to New London, but they were determined to right the ship and not let that losing feeling linger.  

“That’s a sign of a good team when you can kind of respond to adversity,” Hillcrest coach Danny Hershberger said about how his team approached this game after a loss. “We didn’t feel like we played our best baseball at New London, and it hurt us. We talked about how you got to learn from this and not let this happen. The guys are determined to get back after it and play defense the way we know how to play defense, hit the ball the way we know how to hit the ball. That’s one nice thing about having all these games in a row is you get an opportunity to go out and kind of prove yourself again and get back into the rhythm.”

Getting into a rhythm is exactly what the Ravens did to start this game, scoring twice in the first inning to take an early lead they would never relinquish. Hillcrest wouldn’t score again until the bottom of the third, but in the top of the third the defense of the Ravens would make some spectacular catches in the outfield to keep the Falcons scoreless.

For Hillcrest it was the brothers, Grant and Mason Bender, who were responsible for the second and third outs of the inning, both making great catches with Mason making a diving catch.

“That was outstanding effort by those two guys,” Hershberger said about the outfield catches Grant and Mason made. “One of those things where they weren’t going to let the other one gets the best of them. That brother rivalry going on out there. Grant had a couple of great catches on the run. Mason comes up with that type of catch to end the inning there. Those were some huge defensive plays when they had guys on base, to hold them to no runs, and making plays like that is a huge momentum shift as well.”

If the momentum was shifted from the Falcons to the Ravens from those acrobatic catches in the outfield, then it was Hillcrest senior Luke Schrock’s pitching that made sure the momentum stayed in his team’s favor. 

Luke, in his second start as pitcher this season, made sure no runs were scored with his timely strikeouts, even when the Falcons threatened to score when they reached third base. In six innings he finished with eight strikeouts in total, only giving up three hits. 

“You know what you’re going to get from him. He’s going to go out and compete and throw strikes,” Hershberger said about Luke’s pitching performance. “I’m really happy with the way he competed out there on the mound and was able to get out of some tough situations and hold them scoreless tonight.” 

The bottom of the fifth began with Hillcrest holding a comfortable 5-0 lead. Luke would start the inning off by hitting a double, his second of the day. Jace Rempel would follow up his fellow senior’s double with a hit that went out of the park, resulting in a two-score home run. This was Rempel’s first home run of the season. 

“Great at bats by Jace today. He had a foul ball that he hit into the woods and then to see him come back with the homerun was great to see,” Hershberger said. “I thought Luke Schrock did a great job with a couple of doubles. He’s been that guy all year doing that and he did it again tonight. Rowan Miller continues to hit the ball to get on base in big moments when we need to do that. Another group effort by the guys at the plate, kind of led by those couple seniors there at the top.”

After another successful inning of keeping Louisa-Muscatine scoreless, courtesy of another spectacular catch in the outfield by Grant and two strikeouts from Liam, the Ravens would put the kibosh on this game in the bottom of the sixth. 

Needing to score three runs to invoke the mercy rule, Hillcrest’s first two batters of the inning were walked. Sophomore Seth Ours would then hit a single to bring in fellow sophomore Phoenix Anderson for the score. Up next to bat Luke would hit a single as well, making the bases loaded. 

Jace would then be walked, resulting in sophomore Liam Schrock to come home for the score. Now just needing a single point to end the game Hillcrest did face some adversity after the Falcons were able to get two outs. Grant would then step up to the plate and hit a pop fly, but the Louisa-Muscatine first basemen was unable to catch it, resulting in Grant hitting a single and sending home Luke for the score to bring the game to an end, 10-0. 

This would be the seventh time this season Hillcrest has won a game with the mercy rule, and they continue to show great prowess of connecting with the ball, something coach Hershberger says is key for this team.

“The biggest thing is to continue to get those hits, getting guys on base. We’ve had a couple of times where we could have broken it open earlier in the game and they weren’t quite able to come through with those hits,” Hershberger said. “Having guys step up and get that done is going to be key for us.” 

Hillcrest 10, West Burlington 6

It was almost deja vu for Hillcrest. One day removed from defeating the Falcons after scoring 10 points the Ravens would defeat the Falcons on June 13 after scoring 10 points. Of course, these Falcons were the West Burlington Falcons, but nevertheless the Ravens would come out on top in the battle of the birds to improve their record to 11-2.

The only lead West Burlington would hold in this game was after they scored twice in the top of the first inning. Hillcrest would respond in kind, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first to take a lead they would not give up for the rest of the game.

The closest the Falcons came from tying the game or taking back the lead came after they scored three runs in the top of the fifth to cut their deficit to just a single run. Hillcrest eventually responded in the bottom of the six, scoring three more runs to take a 10-6 lead, which also ended up being the final score. 

Leading the team in RBIs was senior Jace Rempel with three runs driven in. Rempel also recorded two hits and scored once. Hitting a home run for the Ravens was senior Luke Schrock. This was his third home run of the year. 

Sophomore Phoenix Anderson made his fourth start of the year as pitcher for Hillcrest. He pitched in six innings and struck out six batters on a 105-pitch count.

Hillcrest 9, Pekin 2

Hillcrest brought out the brooms against the Pekin Panthers, defeating them for the second time this season on June 15 for the series sweep.

With this win the Ravens still sit atop the Southeast Iowa Super Conference with an unblemished record of 8-0 and their overall record on the season improves to 12-2. Last year the Ravens completed their baseball campaign with a 12-11 record and with how quickly they have matched their win total from last year shows just how well this year’s Hillcrest baseball squad is playing. 

The Ravens would begin the game with a 3-1 lead after one inning played, but then a drought on offense would happen to both teams. In the second, third, and fourth inning no runs were scored by either team. 

Breaking the scoring drought Hillcrest would score six runs in the top of the fifth to take an eight-point lead. Peking would respond with just one scored run. No runs would be scored in the final two innings. 

As a team Hillcrest would record eight hits with brothers Liam and Luke Shcrock tying for the team lead with two hits apiece and they lead the team with two runs scored. Senior Grant Bender led the team in RBIs with three. 

Pitching all seven innings for Hillcrest and earning the win would be sophomore Seth Ours. Ours would throw 77 pitches and end his day with seven strikeouts. 

Hillcrest 15, Wapello 0

It is one thing to win a game, it’s another matter entirely to dominate a game, but that is just what Hillcrest did against conference foe Wapello. Shutting the Wapello Indians out, Hillcrest would win its fourth consecutive game on June 16. 

Having already defeated the Indians in an early game this season, 14-0 on June 1, Hillcrest would sweep Wapello with this win. Surpassing their win total from last year this victory would give the Ravens a 13-2 record. 

With this game only lasting four innings it’s no surprise Hillcrest scored an abundance of points in this game’s early stages. Scoring five runs in the first and following up by scoring five additional runs in the second the Ravens would take a 10-0 lead entering the third.

Hillcrest would score once in the third and then score four more runs in the fourth to end the game early. This is the fifth time this season Hillcrest has shut out its opponent. 

Two Ravens would hit homeruns in this lop-sided win, sophomore Liam Schrock and senior Jace Rempel. Leading the team in RBIs with three would be senior Luke Schrock. 

The starting Hillcrest pitcher for the second time this season was freshman Rowan Miller. Miller would pitch all four innings, giving up two hits and ended his day with six strikeouts. 

Hillcrest Classic Tournament 

Competing In a double header, with their first game versus English Valleys and the next game being against Keokuk, the Ravens would win both games during their home tournament on June 16. These two wins brings Hillcrest’s record to 15-2 and makes it six wins in-a-row. 

Hillcrest would take the win over the English Valleys Bears, 11-1. This game would last five innings with the Ravens winning this game virtue of the mercy rule. 

Leading the Ravens in hits, with three, and runs scored, with three, would be sophomore Liam Schrock. Senior Grant Bender would lead the team with four RBIs. 

Bender would also serve as the pitcher for Hillcrest in this contest. Pitching in five innings Bender would finish with three strikeouts, giving up only three hits. 

In Hillcrest’s next game of the double header, they would defeat the Keokuk Chiefs, 4-2. Hitting a home run for the Ravens in this close contest would be Liam, who also led the team in runs scored with two. 

Pitching in all seven innings for Hillcrest was senior Jace Rempel. Throwing 104 pitches, Rempel would finish the game with five strikeouts, allowing four hits. 

Hillcrest (15-3) battled Winfield Mt. Union (4-9) on June 20 and then competed against Central Lee (10-6) on June 21. Up next for the Ravens will be two home games to bring their season to a close. First, they will face off against Highland (9-8) on June 22 and then they will challenge Prince of Peace (3-2) on June 24.