After a sluggish 2-3 start, Iron baseball has roared to life—winning 21 of its last 22 games, including a 3-0 shutout of a top-tier U-High squad (19-5) on May 7.

The Ironmen now boast nine shutouts this season, and over their 22-game tear, they’ve outscored opponents by nearly eight runs per game.

That success, in large part, stems from a standout junior class—headlined by three U-High transfers: Gavin Swartz, Max Heineman and Gavin Michaels.

Heineman, who leads the team in batting average (.571), hits (44) and RBIs (32), credited the team’s turnaround to chemistry.

“I think the biggest thing is we’re starting to gel together now as a team,” Heineman said. “At the beginning, we were new and didn’t know each other as much. Now we’re coming together and starting to play some good baseball.”

Heineman, a University of Illinois-Chicago commit, said his production at the plate comes from work put in well before opening day.

During “the offseason, I put in a lot of work—in the weight room and the cage,” Heineman said. “Letting that take over in the game is what’s helped me the most.”

Swartz has also made his presence known this season. He ranks among the team leaders in batting average (.415), hits (27) and RBIs (26)—and tops the pitching staff in strikeouts (57), innings pitched (36) and wins (5).

“He’s a freak athlete,” junior pitcher Landyn Corbin said.

Corbin (5-1) and Roper (1-0) round out the top of a dominant Ironmen rotation, a pitching staff which includes Lucas Beaty (3-0) and Jacob Engel (3-0). 

Roper, returning from offseason Tommy John surgery, impressed Wednesday—tossing a one-hit shutout with five strikeouts in a complete-game effort.

Roper’s transition back into a starting role is going smoothly as he leads the team with a 0.00 ERA over 17 innings. 

Corbin is close behind with a .483 ERA across 29 innings.

Despite his own success, Corbin pointed to Swartz’s mentorship as a key factor.

“He’s taught me a couple things—how to throw a couple breaking balls,” Corbin said. Pitches, the junior said, that serve as a nice addition to his arsenal. 

Balanced contributions at the plate and on the mound have propelled Community to the top of the Big 12 standings. The Ironmen sit at 13-1 in conference play, two games ahead of Normal West and 2.5 ahead of Bloomington. 

Community split its series with rival Normal West earlier this season and will face Bloomington on May 12 and 14 in two of their final six games—all against opponents with winning records.

In conference action this season, the Iron are averaging 11 runs per game, offensive firepower which owes plenty to juniors like Michaels and Drew Stevens. 

Stevens is batting .418 with a team-best 4 home runs and ranks second on the team with 25 RBIs. Michaels has posted a .360 average with 13 RBIs in 21 games. 

Michaels is dangerous even when he isn’t swinging the bat, the junior transfer leads the Ironmen with a perfect 18-for-18 mark on stolen base attempts, and has drawn 15 walks—third most on the roster.

The Ironmen are set to host a doubleheader against winless Peoria (0-18) May 9.