Photo courtesy of Iowa Central Athletics: Cooper Nicholson of Iowa Central rounds the bases after hitting a home run against Northeast in Carroll on Friday.

CARROLL — The 16th-ranked Iowa Central baseball team was put to the test immediately here Friday afternoon as the Region XI Tournament started for head coach Eric Stein’s ballclub at Merchants Park.

After spotting Northeast a 6-0 lead in the third, the Tritons answered with their own six spot. They then scored three more in the fourth to take the lead and that ultimately was enough in a 9-7 victory.

Iowa Central (40-14 overall) now faces No. 3 Southeastern in the semifinals of the championship bracket back here on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The winner of that game moves into the finals; the loser plays in an elimination contest at 7 p.m.

Cooper Nicholson and Bryson Carpenter hit back-to-back home runs in the third to spark the rally, and Isaiah Scott’s double gave the Tritons a lead they would never surrender.

“Northeast is a very solid team and with very good players,” ICCC head coach Eric Stein said. “Obviously, it’s not ideal to give up six runs in an inning (and fall behind 6-0), but we understood there was a ton of game left. In junior college baseball, you have to roll with the punches. That’s especially true in a posstseason regional tournament game. You get off the deck or you go home.

“Cooper hits a ball to the moon, and on the very next pitch, Bryson hits one over the right-field fence. That got the lid off it for us and we were rolling.”

Scott finished 2-for-4 with three RBI. Nicholson drove in two, with Carpenter and Sawyer Stein each adding an RBI.

Nicholson and Chayton Fischer scored two runs each.

Cade Sears stole two bases and Fischer had one steal. The Tritons worked six walks against Northeast pitchers.

On the mound, Chris McCormack relieved ace Ryan Ohm and pitched the final five innings to earn the win. He struck out three and did not allow a hit, walking two with one earned run allowed to improve to 9-0 on the year.

“That was big for Chris to come in,” Stein said. “He pitched us out of a jam and we weathered the storm.”

Ohm had three strikeouts over the first four innings.

Iowa Central will now have starters Carter Giesen, Braxton Shaffer and Maddux Gast to throw over the weekend. The three are a combined 15-7 on the season with 172 strikeouts.

“Being able to limit what pitchers we used as very important,” Stein said. “Everything is different playing in conditions like this (temperatures in the 80s) compared to the 40 and 50s we’ve had most of the spring.

“We can use our bullpen how we want now, which is huge in a tournament like this.”

Southeastern (46-11), regular season champions of the ICCAC, topped Des Moines Area on Friday to advance, 10-2 in seven innings.

Northeast (33-26) rebounded by defeating Kirkwood later on Friday.