A back and forth game late turned Highland’s way in the final frame Tuesday as the Huskies came from behind to beat Hillcrest Academy 5-2, in a Southeast Iowa Superconference baseball contest in Kalona. Pitching and defense controlled the game early on, with Highland finally breaking through for a single run in the fourth. With runners on the corners, Bryce Thompson got in a rundown between first and second, allowing Tyler Thompson to scamper home and give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. That advantage stood until the bottom of the sixth when Hillcrest got a pair on a swinging bunt from Josiah Beachy and an errant throw by the Huskies. In the seventh, the Ravens were unable to close the door on a 2-1 win. Highland started the inning with a Logan Bonebrake double. With one out Brenton Bonebrake walked and Luke Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Connor Grinstead then drew a free pass to tie the game and Trevor McFarland’s RBI single gave Highland the lead, followed by two insurance runs on an RBI single from Chase Schultz. That was enough for Highland to finish the win in the bottom half as Schultz sat Hillcrest down in order in the seventh. After the game, Schultz, a junior, talked about his night on the mound and his final at bat. “The fastball was working, it’s been working all week. This is my first start of the year. I basically told myself before the game, I’m going to come out, pound the zone, throw strikes, throw in the breaking ball and it was working. In the last at bat, I stepped in hoping to go to right, but it was an inside pitch on my hands. I threw the barrel around, made solid contact and sent it up the middle.”

He went the distance on the hill, striking out 11 in the win, allowing one earned run and four hits. At the plate, he was two for three with a pair of runs driven in. Jace Rempel led the Raven offense with two hits. Luke Schrock took the loss for Hillcrest in relief. With the win, the Huskies are now 1-1 on the year as they get ready for Lone Tree. Hillcrest travels to Danville Thursday.