Postseason play will begin with a little different twist for the Iowa Central baseball team this weekend.
Instead of entering right into a double-elimination tournament, the eight teams that comprise ICCAC Div. II will square off in four best-of-three series. The Tritons host North Iowa Area on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the first postseason games at Ed Barbour Field since the 2006 season.
Games two and three will be played on Sunday at noon and 3 p.m.
Kirkwood, the No. 1 seed, hosts Iowa Lakes, Southeastern welcomes in Des Moines Area and Ellsworth travels to Northeast in the other three matchups. The four winners advance to the Region XI Tournament, which will be played in Cedar Rapids May 14-16.
Iowa Central went 31-21 during the regular season, including a 23-17 mark in conference play. The Tritons are 21-7 at home and own a record of 56-21 at Ed Barbour Field since the start of the 2017 season.
Derek Kay leads the team with nine homers and 23 steals to go along with 45 hits, 41 runs, 10 doubles and three triples. Max Holy has 49 RBI and six homers with nine steals, Ryan Wickman 55 hits, 27 RBI, 18 steals and 12 doubles, and Jack Sievers 29 RBI, three homers and nine doubles.
On the mound, John Klein is the ace, carrying a record of 6-2 with five complete games, 67 strikeouts and a 3.40 earned run average. Matthew Wilkinson is 6-2 with a save, two complete games and 40 strikeouts, Easton Dermody is 5-1 with three complete games and 48 strikeouts, Kai Reum has 47 strikeouts in 41 innings and Jace Davidson 32 strikeouts with three wins.
Devon Schewe, who had a fast start to the year before suffering an injury, has been working his way back into action. He is 4-1 with 37 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched.
All four games scheduled between the Tritons and NIACC this year were canceled. The Trojans are 22-25 overall and 17-23 in the league.
Mason Nadolney leads the team with 13 homers and 34 RBI while NIACC has hit 59 homers overall. Collin Kramer has a team-high 64 strikeouts and is 4-3 while Thomas Gross has 54 with two wins.
The winner of the tournament moves into a district final against the winner of the North Plains May 21-22. The NJCAA Div. II World Series is scheduled for May 29-June 5 in Enid, Okla.
-By Dana Becker
