CARROLL — The Iowa Central baseball team started fast here Friday in taking care of No. 4 Kirkwood in the Region 11 Tournament from Merchants Park, 7-4.

The No. 16 Tritons plated three runs in the second and two more in the third, providing starting pitcher Carter Giesen with all the support he would need.

With the win, Iowa Central (45-9 overall) advances in the championship bracket of the tournament, as they will square off with seventh-ranked Southeastern back here at 3:30 p.m.

“This time of the season, you have to have players step up,” ICCC head coach Eric Stein said. “We’ve had that these last two games. Guys are playing focused, smart baseball, and hopefully that will continue.”

Giesen went six innings, striking out nine around five hits and three earned runs allowed. Maddox Sullivan pitched the final three innings, striking out three for the save, as Giesen improved to 5-1 on the year.

Will Specht, Sawyer Stein, Wyatt Myers and Bryson Carpenter each went deep, as Stein, George McIntyre and Tate Perrin all added doubles. The Eagles (45-9) had just two extra-base hits in the game.

Stein finished 4-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored, Myers drove in three and Specht had two RBI. McIntyre recorded two hits and scored a run.

“Nobody really thought much about the regular season games we played against Kirkwood,” Stein said. “We had our chances in those games and couldn’t close the door. We did (close the door) on Friday.”

For Kirkwood, Adam Kayko was 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored, including a home run. The Eagles scored three runs in the fourth and one in the ninth, as the Tritons added runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Iowa Central has won six in a row, outscoring the opposition 97-29 during that time.

Southeastern (44-13) won the regular season ICCAC title and earned the No. 1 seed at regionals. They took care of Des Moines Area earlier in the day, 10-7. The Bears and Northeast met late Friday night in an elimination game, with the winner playing Kirkwood Saturday at noon.

Sunday’s games are scheduled for noon and 3:30 p.m. in the double-elimination tournament.

During the regular season, Southeastern won all three meetings with Iowa Central by scores of 9-5, 6-4 and 11-9.