Indians sweep past Girard

Patience was a virtue for Iola’s AA American Legion squad Thursday.
The Post 15 Indians converted 14 walks into plenty of scoring opportunities against visiting Girard.
While the Indians stranded plenty of runners  — 12 in all, including leaving the bases loaded in three straight innings — Iola still poured in plenty of runs.
Levi Ashmore’s fifth-inning grand slam highlighted the Indians’ 14-6 win in the opener. Iola kept up the barrage in the second game, spearheaded by an eight-run third inning in a 12-2 victory.
The wins put Iola’s record to 17-1 on the season.
The Indians travel to Burlington today and Sunday for the Burlington Senior SlugFest. Iola takes on Emporia at 11 this morning at Kelley Park and Garnett at 1 p.m.
On Sunday, the Indians travel to Burlington High School to take on host Burlington at 9 a.m.
Results from the preliminary rounds will determine the matchups Sunday afternoon. The third-place game is at 1 p.m.; the championship at 3 o’clock.

THE KEY to Thursday’s opener victory — aside from the myriad walks — was Iola starter Aaron Barclay’s pitching prowess.
After struggling through the first two innings — he retired only two of the first 11 batters — Barclay settled down nicely.
Barclay struck out three straight batters with the bases loaded — two on called third strikes — and held Girard hitless over his last three innings of work.
He wound up allowing five hits and five walks with six strikeouts to get the win. Tyler Clubine pitched an inning of relief, allowing two unearned runs on two hits with a strikeout.
Iola scored three runs in the first on only one hit. Three walks preceded Nathan Whitcomb’s RBI ground ball and Barclay’s sacrifice fly, to give the Indians a 3-2 lead.
The Indians tied it in the third , 4-4, on Ashmore’s triple and Trent Latta’s RBI single, but left the bases loaded.
A bases-loaded walk to Ashmore, and sacrifice fly by Latta was part of a three-run fourth to put Iola up for good, but again the bases were filled when the third out was recorded.
Drew Faulhaber’s single, a fielder’s choice and a walk left the bases loaded again for Ashmore, who blasted a 2-0 pitch for the grand slam and an 11-4 lead.
Braden Larson, Jacob Rhoads and Latta had singles in the sixth for Iola’s final three runs of the game.
Ashmore wound up with two hits, a triple and home run, four runs and five RBIs. Latta had three singles, while Derrick Weir singled in his only official at bat. Larson had a single, as did Faulhaber, Rhoads and Eric Heffern.

IOLA SPOTTED Girard an early 1-0 lead before erupting for three in the second. Clubine and Larson scored on an error by Girard starter Dalton Coleman. Rhoads drove in Whitcomb on a sac fly for the third run.
The first six Indian batters reached base in the third, including a Mason Coons single, Weir’s two-run triple and Barclay’s RBI base hit. A walk and two hit batters led by Ashmore’s two-run double later in the inning. Latta singled to drive in two more, putting the Indians up 11-1.
Barclay was hit by a pitch and came around to score on an error for Iola’s final run.
Roads earned the victory, allowing three hits and three walks in three innings. Faulhaber pitched one hitless inning of relief, allowing one walk and one strikeout.
Ashmore pounded out two doubles, Weir had a triple, Larson doubled and Latta, Coons and Barclay had singles.