JEWELL – South Hamilton’s valiant comeback was all for naught, as Roland-Story provided the final dagger in the top of the seventh inning in a Heart of Iowa Conference baseball game at the Mike Penning Athletic Complex on Monday.

Jerald Fritz smacked a base hit and eventually scored the go-ahead run on an Alex Muhlenburg single, as the Norsemen fended off the Hawks, 10-9.

South Hamilton (2-6, 1-5 HOIC) trailed 9-4 after 51?2 innings, but put together a five-run frame in the bottom of the sixth to draw even at 9.

“We were down, but the guys fought and battled,” South Hamilton head coach Kyle Galetich said. “They’ve done that every game … they always play hard.”

The two teams combined for 27 hits, 15 of those coming from the Hawks.

All nine players in the South Hamilton lineup recorded at least one hit. Colton Griffin went 4-for-4 with a RBI, while Caleb Olson, Dugan Swenson and Blake Barquist all lashed two hits. Barquist and Jake Hand found the gap for doubles.

Trey Woodall suffered the loss on the mound after relieving Olson in the sixth. Fritz worked in the sixth and then got out of a jam in the seventh to pick up the win for the Norsemen (8-5, 5-1 HOIC).