Photo Courtesy of Hillcrest Yearbook

The Hillcrest Academy Raven baseball team gets their second season underway tonight when they host a Class 1A District doubleheader in Kalona. Hillcrest finished the regular season with a 15-4 overall record, champions of the North Division of the Southeast Iowa Superconference with a 9-2 mark. They fell to Pekin in their regular season finale 2-0 Tuesday. On the year, Hillcrest is hitting .278 collectively with a .426OBP and .367 slug, scoring 163 runs on 144 hits with 114 walks and 139 strikeouts. Four players are hitting .300 or better, led by Rowan Miller’s .444 this year with 24 total hits and 23RBI. Liam Schrock has scored 27 runs to pace the Ravens. On the mound, the team ERA is 3.04 with a .224 opponent average on 110 hits, 54 earned runs and 102 strikeouts. Seth Ours and Rowan Miller each have four wins and a combined 2.50ERA.

The Ravens tournament trail begins against the HLV Warriors of the South Iowa Cedar League. HLV is 2-13 this year overall and in conference play. They have been off since a Wednesday win against Montezuma 7-1. This season, the Warriors hit .277 together with a .394OBP and .319 slug, scoring 69 runs on 99 hits with 60 walks and 111 strikeouts. Boston York leads with a .575 average at the plate on 23 hits with 10RBI. Bryer Jack has also driven in 10 and Max Henstorf has scored 15 times. The HLV staff ERA is 8.13 with a .238 opponent average on 127 hits, 103 earned runs and 73 strikeouts. Henstorf and Keegan Gorsh have each won once with a combined 7.50ERA. These teams have not met since 2009, a 14-0 Raven win.

The Ravens and Warriors play tonight at 7p.m. on the campus of Hillcrest Academy. Game one of the 1A doubleheader features the BGM Bears taking on the Wapello Indians starting at 5p.m. Both games winners will square off in Tuesday’s 1A District semifinals.