CARROLL — The No. 16 Iowa Central baseball team head into the Region 11 Tournament with momentum after concluding the regular season strong.

In fact, the Tritons open play here Thursday from Merchants Park with Ellsworth, who they took three games from this past weekend at Rogers Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. following Des Moines Area vs. Northeast. Seventh-ranked Southeastern is the top seed, while No. 4 Kirkwood awaits the winner between Iowa Central (43-9 overall) and Ellsworth (21-31).

The tournament is double elimination.

With the sweep of the Panthers, the Tritons secured the No. 3 seed in the bracket, missing out on the No. 2 slot to the Eagles because of a tiebreaker. Last year, Iowa Central won the regional, advancing to the NJCAA Div. II World Series semifinals.

Head coach Eric Stein’s team boasts a batting average of .372 with 166 home runs on the year. George McIntyre has hit 27 homers, Sawyer Stein has 25 long balls and Tate Perrin, 20.

Stein also reached 100 RBI to go along with a .466 average, 81 runs scored and 15 steals. McIntyre holds an average of .497 with 118 runs scored, 84 RBI and 27 steals while Perrin has a .411 average, 74 RBI, 83 runs and 23 steals.

On the mound, Isaiah Brennan is 6-2 with 73 strikeouts, Carter Giesen owns a 4-1 record with a team-high 81 strikeouts and Maddux Gast is 7-1 with two complete games and 36 strikeouts.

Friday’s semifinal contests take place at noon and 3:30 p.m., with an elimination game set for 7 p.m. Saturday’s championship series begins at 3:30 p.m.

The tournament winner advances to the North Plains District finals to face the winner from Region 13 beginning May 15.