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For the third time in less than a week, the Indian Hills baseball team won one and lost one in a road doubleheader .

Facing Ellsworth on the Panthers' home diamond, Indian Hills won the first game, 10-2, before dropping the nightcap, 9-7.

Three unearned runs by ECC in the bottom of the 6th inning of game two kept the visitors from gaining a sweep on the day.

The Falcons had used the strong pitching of starter Brad Mergen and a potent offense to win the opener.

Mergen went the first five innings for IHCC and gave up only four hits and one run.

He didn't walk anyone and struck out six. Ian Schiltz and Coleton Wilson each pitched an inning of relief.

The Falcons' offense had 11 hits and was handed 10 walks.

Juan Diaz had three hits, including his first homer of the spring, and knocked in five runs.

Frankie Rivera, who ealier in the day was the named the conference's Player of the Week, homered and doubled and drove in two runs.

Rivera added three hits and scored three runs in the second game.

The first-game win saw the Falcons score at least one run in the 2nd-through-6th innings.

Fernando Frias and Kyle Peterson joined Diaz and Rivera with multiple-hit games. Frias had a single and a double and Peterson stroked two doubles.

The big inning for IHCC was the 2nd when they sent 11 batters to the plate and scored five times.

Indian Hills overcame an early 4-1 lead for Ellsworth with three runs in the 3rd and two more in the 4th in game two.

ECC tied the game at 6-all in the 5th against IHCC starter Caleb Phillips and won it with the 3-run 6th with all of the runs unearned.

Adam Coleman had a solo homer leading off the 7th for Indian Hills, but the next three hitters were retired in order.

Delvin Perez came on in relief of Phillips and took the loss for IHCC.

Rivera and Coleman supplied most of the Falcons' offense with three hits each and they combined to score five runs. Chad Northcott had two hits.

Indian Hills is 26-18 for the season and will host Southwestern CC in a four-game series in Centerville this weekend.

Courtesy IHCC Sports