Patience at the plate finally came through for Eric Stein and the Iowa Central baseball team here Saturday afternoon.

Two walks and two hits led to two runs, as the Tritons rallied for a 3-2 victory over Ellsworth in the opener at Ed Barbour field. They followed that up with a commanding 9-3 triumph to finish the doubleheader sweep.

“It was definitely a frustrating start,” Stein said. “But it was good to see our guys not get down and keep battling with our backs against the wall.”

With two outs in the seventh, Noah Grimes was hit by a pitch and Jack Sievers worked a walk. Leadoff hitter Nic Anderson-Vine, who had been walked in his three previous at bats, singled in Grimes and Alberto Ortiz drove in Cullen Weiss for the game-winning run.

Iowa Central struggled to solve side-arm pitcher Zach Carlson, as the Panther had eight strikeouts. He had allowed just three hits and two walks before the final inning began.

“Credit him for keeping us down for six innings,” Stein said. “We probably swung at pitches that we shouldn’t have, but in the seventh we were finally able to string something together.”

That rally helped spark the Tritons in the second game, as they jumped out to a 7-2 lead after four in the nine-inning affair.

Ortiz and Devin Porter finished the day with four hits each, with Nathin Mortimer adding three. Anderson-Vine and Derek Kay recorded two each.

“We really did a better job up and down the lineup in the second game,” Stein said. “I was pleased with the way we went about our business in the box.”

Ortiz drove in three, scored three times and had two steals, Mortimer drove in four and had his fourth home run of the season, Porter had two doubles and two RBI, Kay scored three runs and Anderson-Vine had a pair of RBI and two runs scored.

Mortimer leads the team with 44 RBI and Porter has belted out 14 doubles on the season. Ortiz is tops on the squad with 16 steals.

Jason Ferreras worked the seventh in the opener for the win, striking out two and allowing just one hit. Jayden Maifeld, who got the start, allowed just two hits and one earned run over six innings with seven strikeouts and a walk.

Brendan Roder was awarded the victory in the second, striking out three over three innings. Kyle Denison and former Southeast Valley standout Nolan Johnson each had perfect innings in relief, with Johnson striking out two batters.

“It’s such a big difference between seven- and nine-inning games,” Stein said. “We were able to get some good innings out of several guys on the mound and that was big.”

Roder has a team-high four victories on the mound with Ferreras holding three to his resume. Maifeld has struck out 44 batters in 46 innings.

The Tritons (20-14 overall, 9-5 in ICCAC) will host Ellsworth (6-32, 1-13) for another doubleheader back here Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ed Barbour Field. Iowa Central is 9-1 at home this season.

IOWA CENTRAL 3, ELLSWORTH 2

Ellsworth 010 000 1 — 2 3 0

Iowa Central 000 001 2 — 3 5 1

WP–Jason Ferreras (1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB). LP–Zach Carlson (6ª IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 8 K, 4 BB).

RBI–ICCC: Nic Anderson-Vine, Alberto Ortiz, Nathin Mortimer. SB–ICCC: Albert Mora.

IOWA CENTRAL 9, ELLSWORTH 3

Ellsworth 200 000 010 — 3 8 5

Iowa Central 202 302 00x — 9 12 0

WP–Brendan Roder (3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K, 0 BB). LP–Alex Schneider (3• IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 K, 2 BB).

HR–ICCC: Nathin Mortimer. 2B–ICCC: Nic Anderson-Vine, Devin Porter (2). RBI–E: Reed Collins, Marino Pugnetti, Tommy Auth; ICCC: Nic Anderson-Vine, Alberto Ortiz (2), Devin Porter (2), Nathin Mortimer (3). SB–ICCC: Nathin Mortimer, Alberto Ortiz (2), Derek Kay.