The Iola American Legion Post 15 Indians 17U are winners of four of their last six games after splitting Wednesday’s doubleheader with the Pittsburg Post 64.
After falling in their second consecutive mercy-rule shortened opener 12-2, the Indians rebounded for a 9-7 win in the finale with another game-winning line-drive by outfielder Kale Pratt, who helped win the 19U’s game Tuesday against Garnett while under the exact same circumstances.
In the opener, Iola briefly took the lead in the opening frame after a grounder by second baseman Ty Shaughnessy plated Pratt. The Indians tied 2-2 Pittsburg in the second inning when third baseman Thomas Allee reached home on an errant pitch.
That was all the offense Iola would muster as Pittsburg scored 10 unanswered runs to take the opener 12-2. Pitcher Brock Michael took the loss with a pair of strikes over two innings while allowing four runs, three hits and two walks.
After showing a few flashes in the opener, Shaughnessy more than proved his worth in the finale with a team-leading five strikeouts and tying Pratt for the team lead in RBIs with two each. Allee got the start, tallying a pair of strikeouts over three innings.
After Allee got into a bit of trouble with four runs in the third inning, Coach TJ Taylor opted for Shaughnessy, who posted five strikeouts in the fourth and fifth inning for the save, despite throwing only six fewer pitches than Allee.
With Iola’s pitcher accounting for seven strikeouts, the Indians seemed primed for a victory as long as they could manufacture runs. In the opening frame, Shaughnessy picked up the first of his two RBIs on a sacrifice fly, then Pratt scored on a catcher’s error to give Iola a 2-0 lead. In the third, Iola added to its lead with an RBI double by shortstop Easton Weseloh.
Pittsburg rallied with seven runs across the third and fourth innings for a 4-3 lead in a seesaw battle. Iola took advantage advantage of Pittsburg pitching woes with a trio of runs before Pratt pulled through, once again, with a game-winning RBI.
With the win, the Indians improved to 6-7. After hosting the SEK Blue Jays Thursday, the 15U Indians travel to Emporia Monday to face the Midwest Elite. First pitch for Monday’s game is 5:30 p.m.
