With the previously scheduled American Legion zone tournament canceled due to a lack of teams, the Iola American Legion Post 15 Indians 15U team hopes to wrap up their season Thursday on a positive note at home against Uniontown.
The Indians may be experiencing a renaissance of sorts after splitting Monday’s series against El Dorado and winning two of their last four games.
“It shows these kids can play,” Coach Trey Sommer said. “At moments, they doubt themselves but that was a 19U team they just beat. I was pretty confident with where they were at and they made big strides throughout the year.”
During Monday’s doubleheader, El Dorado escaped with an 8-5 victory in the opener, but Iola would not be denied in the finale, holding on for a 7-6 victory.
After finding themselves in a deficit early, pitcher Ty Wrestler put Iola on the scoreboard after reaching home on an errant pitch in the second inning. Now trailing 5-1 in the fourth inning, shortstop Milo Franklin posted the Indians’ first RBI of the evening on a double.
“It was discipline at the plate, and being able to watch pitches,” said Franklin, who ended the opener with a team-leading two RBIs and had another crucial hit in the finale.
“We did not want to go for everything and do anything to get on base. We picked up where we left off (in game two) and it allowed us to get a big lead at the start of the game.”
Trailing 8-2 heading into their final at-bat, the Indians rallied with three runs on RBIs from outfielder Dagon Denny and Franklin, who later added another run after reaching home on a wild pitch, but it was not enough to force the game into extra innings.
Starting pitcher Max Disbrow took the loss after going 2 1/3 innings with a strikeout, allowing four hits and five runs. Wrestler posted four strikeouts in his 3 2/3 innings. Outfielder Layne Lord tied Disbrow for the team lead in hits with three each, but his contribution to Iola’s success did not come until the finale. Instead of going on defense in the finale, the Indians unleashed a scoring barrage leaving El Dorado playing catchup through their final at-bat.
After Disbrow gave Iola an early lead while capitalizing on an errant pitch, Franklin plated his brother Will Disbrow with an RBI double. Another score on another wild pitch, a third inning RBI single, gave Iola a 5-2 advantage before Max Disbrow scored against on a wild pitch moments later. As Iola’s batter’s took advantage of shaky pitching, El Dorado received no reprieve from Lord, who posted three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of work while allowing four runs on six hits.
“I had to pick up where Tucker left off and went from there,” Lord said. “Defense helped me a lot. I knew they were there. I could pitch and I knew they would make plays behind me.”
El Dorado rallied to a 6-6 tie before the Indians’ final at-bat. Landon Shelton’s RBI double secured the victory. With the win, the Indians improve their record to 3-12. Although a .500 record is out of reach, Coach Sommers thinks a win Thursday would be a fitting ending for a team that showed so much promise.
“When we started the year, we were struggling,” Sommer said. “When your defense plays well behind you, your confidence gets a lot higher. We lacked a lot of that at the start of the season. Plays weren’t being made that should have been made from a team of this caliber. They showed what they can do and played to their potential.”
Milo Franklin, Iola American Legion Post 15 Indians 15U shortstop, tags a runner out while trying to steal second base Monday at Riverside Park.
First pitch for Thursday’s doubleheader is 6 p.m.
