Indianola pitchers Luke Rockhold and Asher Brueck combined to hold Des Moines East to just two hits in a 7-1 victory in the opening round of class 4A substate play as heard live on 94.3 KNIA Friday evening.

The Indians got out to a 2-0 lead in the third after an Ethan Grimsrud RBI single, then added to their lead in the fourth with a three-run inning highlighted by a two-RBI single by Grimsrud and an RBI single by Rockhold to lead 5-0. A sacrifice fly by Rockhold added another run, then after the Scarlets got a run back in the sith, Grimsrud drove in his fourth run to seal the victory. Rockhold pitched four innings to earn the win, while Brueck pitched three innings for the hold.

Head coach Nathan Carlin said after the game his deep pitching staff is a big asset with choosing who to get on the mound.

“We got a really solid pitching rotation right now. I’m really confident in our two postseason starters, and a handful of guys out of the bullpen that we can throw out there. Asher’s number got thrown out there tonight and we rode with him. That’s one of those things. Kaden (Ritchie) has 13 appearances and a handful of saves on the year, but at the time Asher was hot and we were gonna ride with him until we weren’t.”

The Indians advance to the substate semifinal round where they will host Sioux City North on Monday.