Photo by Iowa Central Athletics: Iowa Central, the Region 11 champion, swept its way to an NJCAA World Series berth with two wins at Williston State over the weekend in Williston, N.D.

WILLISTON, N.D. — For just the 11th time in program history, the Iowa Central baseball team is headed to the NJCAA World Series.

Forgive the ninth-ranked Tritons if they aren’t impressed by their own accomplishments to date.

Head coach Eric Stein’s squad was all business over the weekend in a North Plains District final, sweeping Williston State and sealing their second consecutive trip to Enid, Okla. with a 9-3 victory here on Saturday.

Iowa Central (50-10 overall) dominated the best-of-three series with the Tetons (47-15), flanking their 12-3 rout on Friday with more of the same to clinch a berth to nationals.

“Fortunately, we’ve been pretty tough and balanced one through nine in the lineup so far this postseason, which is a recipe for success,” Stein said. “We haven’t had to rely on just one or a small handful of guys. Everyone is contributing.

“We’ve been creating runs in different ways and executing, which can make any ballclub tough to slow down.”

Wyatt Myers homered and knocked in three in the clinching win, while Parker Studtmann went 4-for-4 with two runs scored. Seven different Tritons drove in runs, and seven also crossed home plate.

Ahead just 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Iowa Central — the designated home team on Saturday — broke things wide open with a five-run frame.

Leadoff hitter George McIntyre — the ICCAC offensive player of the year — went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Bryson Carpenter and Ben Jones were both 2-for-4.

“We were actually facing two really strong pitchers (both Friday and Saturday),” Stein said. “We were patient at the plate, working counts when we weren’t aggressive.

“It was a different atmosphere, especially after a 13-hour bus ride up here (from Fort Dodge). But we treated it as a business trip. I’m just really proud of the guys for staying the course, especially coming out of our league. It’s really good, and you have to be playing your best ball at the right time just to make it out of regionals.”

Isaiah Brennan was the winning pitcher, working five innings and allowing only one run with seven strikeouts. Maddox Sullivan pitched the final 2.1 innings to secure the save.

After the last out, Triton players took the field for a subdued celebration. Iowa Central has bigger goals in mind as it awaits it fate in Enid.

World Series pairings will be announced on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. with a selection show. The Tritons reached the semifinal round a year ago.

“We have some big goals in mind, trying to take it a step further and then seeing what happens,” Stein said. “But we knew we had to make it through both regionals and districts first, so to our players’ credit, they never got caught looking ahead or taking anything for granted.

“Consistency in your approach is so important, whether you’re in the national tournament or just playing a random game early in the season. You can’t get too high or too low. If you’re a competitor, you’re going to bring the same mentality every time out, regardless of the situation or the opponent. We (collectively) do a good job of that.”

The home run by Myers was the Tritons’ 182nd this season — a single-season program record.

Iowa Central reached the NJCAA World Series field in 1996 and ’97, and from 2000-04. The Tritons also made it in 2006 and ’10, but had a 16-season drought until last May’s district title.

IOWA CENTRAL 9, WILLISTON STATE 3

Williston State 000 100 110 — 3 7 1

Iowa Central 201 001 05x — 9 16 0

WP–Isaiah Brennan (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K); SV–Maddox Sullivan (2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K).

2B–ICCC: Parker Studtmann, Bryson Carpenter, Sam Sejnoha, Ben Jones. HR–ICCC: Wyatt Myers. SB–George McIntyre.