PITTSBURG Independence Day saw the AA Iola Indians head to Pittsburg for the All-American Classic in an American Legion round-robin tournament. This was Iolas first time on the diamond since their split against Chanute last Wednesday.
After a comfortable 5-0 win against Columbus, some verbal fireworks flew in Game 2. An Indian coach and player were ejected after Blake Ashmore slid home to tie the game at 2-2 after a wild pitch, but the umpire thought otherwise. Despite the bad call, Iola battled from being down 1-4 to force extra innings, ultimately falling 4-5.
Before things got heated, Game 1 saw Iola handle Columbus with ease. Kane Rogers led off the second inning with a single to centerfield and advanced to second after a wild pitch. With one out, and Rogers on third, Cal Leonard grounded out to second to bring home Rogers and give Iola the 1-0 lead.
Zach Beckmon featured for Iola on the mound in Game 1. Beckmon went 3 1/3 innings striking out five, but was unable to get in a rhythm giving up bags to Columbuss batters via four walks. Ethan Tavarez came out to close the fourth preserving the Iola lead.
He (Beckmon) battled, but he didnt have the confidence that he has had in his last three or four outings, head coach Jason said. But he got through it.
Leonard started the fifth inning with a triple down the third-base line to jump-start Iolas offense. Next batter, Ashmore, brought home Leonard to double the Indian lead. Ashmore found his way home off a double-steal and the Indians closed the third leading 3-0.
The Indians added two insurance runs in their final chance at the plate. Conor Haviland led off the seventh with a single to center field, and Jackson Aikins found his way on base for the first time in the game after reaching on a walk. After a failed pick-off attempt at first, Haviland slid his way home to add another run. The Iola offense was capped after Isaac Vink tripled to deep-left center field to score Aikins, and give Iola a 5-0 lead.
Tavarez finished off Columbus the rest of the way after relieving Beckmon in the third. The righty finished with five strikeouts, as the two Iola pitchers combined for the shutout in the 5-0 win.
I know we won, but the kids were still going through the motions, head coach Jason Bauer said. We know we have to come out stronger than that. We did play great defense though, I wont take that away from the kids, but we have to come out and do more with our bats.
Bauer handed the ball to Derek Bycroft for Game 2 against Pittsburg. After a scoreless top-half with two runners left on base for Iola, Casen Barker made a diving play in right field to help his pitcher and keep Pittsburg off the base paths.
The Indians failed to score in the second and third, but Bycroft continued to be efficient on the mound. After a four-pitch second inning, Bycroft allowed two hits which turned into one run to give Pittsburg the lead. The Indians allowed a second run after Bycrofts third strikeout of the afternoon was dropped by Zane Whitney behind the plate, and an error on the throw to first scores another run, putting Iola in a 0-2 hole.
Leonard started off the fifth inning by reaching after Pittsburgs first baseman took his foot off the bag. Ashmore, Haviland, and Aikins each reached on a walk leading to Leonard being forced home to cut the deficit in half, and bring Vink to the plate. That is when things got chippy.
A wild pitch sent Ashmore from third to home and appeared to be safe at the plate, but the umpires saw things differently. After being called out, all three Indian coaches came to talk to the home plate umpire to understand the details of the call.
After a long discussion, Vinks at bat continued, and he struck out, leading to him lightly tossing the bat in the direction of the Indian dugout. That gesture got him ejected, and some unfriendly words toward the home-pate umpire from assistant coach Greyson Pearish saw him forced to leave as well.
He was safe, Bauer emphasized. The umpire was in a terrible position, and it ended up changing the entire game. We ended up losing our center fielder, and at that same at bat our assistant coach gets tossed. The kids start worrying about the umpires and what calls they are making.
I had to keep my cool, because if not, we would have been down to one coach. Im not going to blame it on the umpire, but it hurt us up and down the lineup. We had to move kids around, but it was great for us to persevere through adversity and try to make a comeback.
