Iowa Western baseball

[broth87]

First off, very happy with Rick Heller and the job he did and I think Hawkeye baseball is definitely headed in the right direction. Wish we could've seen him work without all the injuries to his pitching staff this year but heck of a job in year one. I have nothing but good things to say about Coach Heller.
I was one who pushed for Coach Marc Rardin at Iowa Western to get a hard look for the job. Just wanted to let everyone know Iowa Western repeated as National Champions again this year. He has now won back to back titles and 3 of the last 4 JUCO National titles. He's one hell of a baseball coach and thought some people around here might like to know what he's been up to since he was discussed around here.
And just for the record, Coach Rardin and Coach Heller are friends and I'm truly hoping that friendship opens the door for Coach Heller to start getting some of Coach Rardin's kids in Iowa City. It can only help Iowa baseball as he's put out some damn good players in his time at IWCC.

 

[Arbitr8]

The legacy of Iowa Western's current baseball dynasty will be defined over time. But what this particular Reiver team did at Suplizio Field this week may be awed for a long while.


No. 3 Iowa Western (56-11) completed perhaps the most one-sided run ever through the NJCAA World Series Friday by blasting No. 10 Miami Dade 17-5 in the championship game.



http://www.omaha.com/content/tncms/live/#





The Reivers claimed their third national title in five years by becoming the first team since Howard in 2009 to go unbeaten in the 10-team, double-elimination tournament. After falling behind 5-0 in their tourney opener against No. 6 Columbia State, the Reivers outscored their opponents 36-1 in the next 23 innings to advance to Friday's final. They ended three consecutive games, against Miami Dade and No. 13 Midland twice, by invoking a run rule.




And then they blasted the Sharks again in front of 10,123 fans before celebrating their title.



"Now that it's over, other than the first game, we really did have some dominance. It's unbelievable," Iowa Western coach Marc Rardin said. "We gave up 11 runs and scored a ton. I can't explain it other than the system works. The kids believed in each other and they just fed off each other."




Tournament most valuable player Alex Krupa collected four singles and drove in four runs from the leadoff spot, and Ryan Merrill had five RBIs after entering the game in the seventh as a pinch hitter.



Winning pitcher Drake Robison shut down the Sharks on two hits after a five-run fourth. He got a double play in the bottom of the ninth from the tourney's top defender, shortstop Jacob Sheldon-Collins, before inducing a groundout that started the Reiver celebration.




"When I came in, I knew I had to shut things down and maintain where our lead was so our high-powered offense could put up some more runs," Robison said. "At the end of the game, it was just a dream come true ? looking for (catcher) Kaden (Moore) to start that dogpile." Krupa drove in two runs in the second and another in the fourth as Iowa Western put three runs on the board in each inning. A two-run single by Dom Thompson-Williams in the top of the fourth gave starting pitcher Quinn Carpenter a six-run advantage to work with.But the Reiver ace couldn't get out of the bottom half. The Sharks opened the inning with four consecutive hits. Deivy Palmeiro then drilled a three-run homer to right field. The blast pulled Miami Dade to 6-5. And the game then went to the bullpens. Robison held the Sharks scoreless. His teammates, meanwhile, battered three relief pitchers for 11 runs in the final three innings. Merrill and Kaden Moore had consecutive two-run singles before Krupa drove in his eighth run of the tourney in the seventh. Merrill later capped the dominant week with a three-run homer during the six-run ninth.




"We went out there and we played Reiver baseball," Krupa said. "We didn't let up one time. We didn't get down besides that first game. We never got down. We always stood up."




Iowa Western (56-11)....030 300 506?17 20 1



Miami Dade (38-17)........000 500 000?   5    8 3



W: Robison, 6-1. L: Carter, 8-2. 2B: IW, Moore, Scudder, Sheldon-Collins. MD, Bateman. HR: IW, Merrill (2). MD, Palmerio (2).

 

[Arbitr8]

 

[HerkyHopeful]

Back to back to back AAU national championship teams

 

[2bagger22]

Originally posted by HerkyHopeful:

Back to back to back AAU national championship teams

Rardin is about as sleazy as Tom Emanski, too.