Brett Sears was dominant on the mound and the 13th-ranked Iowa Central baseball team opened ICCAC play with a victory here on Saturday at Ed Barbour Field.
Sears pitched eight innings, striking out 12 as the Tritons topped No. 18 Southeastern, 6-1.
Brock Johnson had two doubles and drove in a pair, while Isaac Becker had a double and an RBI at the plate.
Iowa Central (20-4 overall, 1-0 in league) has won 14 consecutive games and is now 9-0 at home. The Tritons and Southeastern will complete the weekend with a doubleheader here that begins at noon on Saturday.
Sears, a transfer from Western Illinois who has committed to Nebraska, has been nothing short of an ace for a deep Iowa Central pitching staff. The Harlan native is 7-0 with 68 strikeouts on the year.
"It has felt great being out there," Sears said. "A little cold sometimes, but I love competing with the guys.
"It's been a lot of fun. I know (my teammates) have my back if I struggle and vice versa, so it's been super fun to be able to go out and to succeed for this team."
In his last three starts, Sears has recorded 42 strikeouts in 22 innings, including 18 against Moraine Valley earlier this month. Against Southeastern, Sears allowed just one walk and six hits with one earned run.
"I think just staying aggressive and throwing all my pitches in the zone (has been the key to my success)," Sears said. "The strikeouts started coming when I started throwing my fastball hard the entire game and letting my off-speed work off of that."
Evan Borst had a hit and drove in a run, Max Holy scored twice and stole a base, and Jalen Martinez had a hit and scored. Becker, Nick Baker and Jacob Barton each crossed home.
The Tritons plated two quick runs in the first to set the tone, giving Sears a lead to pitch with. After Southeastern made it 2-1 in the second, Iowa Central scored three times in the fourth and added an insurance run in the sixth.
Sears threw 118 pitches, with 84 being strikes. Nine of his dozen strikeouts were swinging. Kai Reum pitched the ninth, striking out one with a hit allowed.
-By Dana Becker