Senior night arrived for the Hillcrest Ravens, and they were matched up with a familiar opponent, the Highland Huskies. 

Taking control early the Ravens would take a 12-0 win over the Huskies on June 22 and as an added bonus this victory also clinched the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North title, their first since 2009. 

Staying undefeated in the SEISC the Ravens, with one non-conference game left to play, will wrap up their season with a perfect 12-0 record. For Highland this loss gives them a 7-4 record in conference play and its overall record drops to 9-11. 

With this game being senior night the four Hillcrest seniors: Jace Rempel, Grant Bender, Josiah Beachy, and Luke Schrock were all honored after the game was completed. 

“The four seniors have been playing a lot of baseball for us over their careers.  A lot of them have been starting since they were freshmen or eighth graders. They’ve been playing a lot. They’re just a really good group of leaders,” Hillcrest coach Danny Hershberger said. “They bring that competitiveness. They bring those intangible things. They do a great job of helping the younger guys along. Really proud of the way they’ve handled themselves this year and their performance on the field, but what they do off the field leadership wise has been so important also.”

Fitting for senior night it was Bender who shined in this game with a spectacular offensive performance. 

The Ravens would hold a 2-0 lead with two on base in the bottom of the first when Bender stepped up to the plate. Bender would hammer the ball over the fence for a home run, giving Hillcrest a 5-0 lead. A three-run home run would be a great game for anyone, but Bender was not done yet, an encore would ensue. 

Still holding the Huskies scoreless, Hillcrest would score three more runs in the next inning before Bender stepped up to the plate again. For the second straight inning he would blast the ball past the fence for another three-run home run. This gave the Ravens a 11-0 lead after only two innings played and Bender brought in six of those runs. 

“Outstanding night for Grant. What a special time to have that kind of performance on senior night, to come away with two big home runs,” Hershberger said. “Just really proud of him. He’s one of those guys that just is always looking to get better. It’s rewarding to see him be able to have the night he had tonight.”

Hillcrest’s last run scored would come in the third inning. Schrock would hit a double and then eventually steal third. Highland senior Tyler Thompson would then commit a pitching error, a balk at the mound, allowing Schrock to head home for the score. 

With the game coming to an end early because of the mercy rule Hillcrest would take the win after five innings played. Giving up zero runs, no Highland baserunner would even reach second base. This was the seventh game this season the Ravens shut out their opponent. 

“The biggest thing is just keeping focus. We want to get out to a good start and when we’re able to do that that’s something that goes really well for us,” Hershberger said about how his team stays diligent despite having a large lead. “The guys have done a great job of sticking with it and not being satisfied with the early lead and continuing to want to get more and more runs. It’s fun to score runs. It’s fun to hit the ball. The guys buy into that and do a great job of staying focused and staying after it.” 

Pitching in all five innings for Hillcrest would be Schrock. He would finish with five strikeouts on 67 pitches thrown and would give up only two hits. 

Hillcrest 11, WMU 1

With their six-game winning streak coming to an end against number eight ranked Burlington Notre Dame, with a final score of 6-0, the Ravens were looking to rebound in their road game against the Winfield-Mt Union Wolves on June 20.

Doing more than just rebounding Hillcrest was able to complete the season sweep of the Wolves with a convincing 11-1 victory. This win keeps the Ravens perfect in Southeast Super Conference play with an 11-0 record and their overall record improves to 16-3. 

Hillcrest would score in every inning in this game that was cut short because of the mercy rule. Opening the game by scoring four runs the Ravens would add to their lead by scoring one run in both the second and third inning. 

The Ravens added three more runs to their total before the Wolves would respond with their first and only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth to cut Hillcrest’s lead to eight. 

The fifth and final inning of the game would see Hillcrest score twice and the Wolves score none to bring the game to an early end. 

Leading the Ravens with three RBIs was senior Josiah Beachy. Beachy scored once and went two for two at bat, hitting a single and a double. Two Ravens brought in three runs to tie for the team lead, senior Jace Rempel and freshman Rowan Miller. 

Pitching in all five innings for Hillcrest was sophomore Seth Ours. Ours would strike out three batters while giving up four hits and one run.  

Hillcrest 12, Prince of Peace 2

With the postseason right around the corner Hillcrest stayed home to host the Prince of Peace Irish on July 24 for its regular season finale. Trouncing the Irish in five frames with a final score of 12-2, the Ravens capped off its outstanding regular season with a dominating win. 

This win improves Hillcrest’s record to 18-4. This is the best record the Ravens have reached since 2009, where they went 25-2. 

After taking an early lead by scoring three runs in the first Hillcrest would blow open this game by scoring eight runs in the third. They would then score once in the fourth while Prince of Peace scored twice in the fifth, but despite the Irish scoring the game would come to an end courtesy of the mercy rule. 

As a team Hillcrest would finish with 12 hits with senior Luke Schrock leading the team with three. Schrock also led the team in RBIs with three and scored twice. 

Pitching the full game for Hillcrest was freshman Rowan Miller. This was Miller’s third start on the mound. He would end the game with five strikeouts, giving up just three hits. 

Up next for Hillcrest (18-4) will be a first-round postseason game against a familiar opponent, Lone Tree (1-17). This will be the third time this year these two teams will battle. With Hillcrest winning the first two games the Ravens will be looking for three consecutive wins over the Lions