The Iola American Legion Post 15 Indians 17U did not reserve the theatrics during a sweep of Pittsburg Post 64 Wednesday night.
After overcoming an 8-2 deficit to take the opener 10-9, the Indians fended off a 7-2 Pittsburg rally to take the finale 16-12.
They now turn their attention to the July 17 state tournament in Topeka.
“Baseball is one of those things where you have to have a short memory,” Iola coach Jonathan Taylor said. “We just have to continue playing and keep chipping away.”
As for Wednesday’s play, “They did a really good job. We pretty much shut them down for four straight innings after giving up that one big inning.”
After jumping out to an early lead on an RBI triple from outfielder Easton Weseloh and an RBI single from outfielder Broderick Peters, Pittsburg responded with an eight-run second inning to seemingly put the doubleheader to bed early. Looking to limit the damage, Coach Taylor opted for reliever Kale Pratt, who picked up the win with five strikeouts over three innings. Reliever Ruger Boren tallied a pair of strikeouts while relieving Pratt.
As Pratt and Boren went to work, the Indians chipped away at Pittsburg’s lead. Following an RBI fielder’s choice from starting pitcher Thomas Allee, first baseman Roy Gordon kick-started an 6-1 run with an RBI double plating Allee. A groundout RBI from Trapper Boren sent him and Allee home, pulling Iola within a pair of runs.
But the Indians’ bats were not done just yet.
“Whenever we need runs, we come through at clutch moments. The whole team came through at the right time,” said third baseman Ty Shaughnessy, who ended the opener with a team-leading three RBIs while successful in 3 of 4 at-bats.
Iola pulled within a run of Pittsburg after again capitalizing on a wild pitch, then Shaughnessy plated a pair of runners on an RBI triple for the walk-off victory.
“That was the first time they’d done that all year, and it was pretty amazing to watch,” Taylor said.
In the finale, the Indians experienced a reverse of fortune from the opener by jumping out to an 14-5 lead by the end of the second inning. A Shaughnessy RBI single put Iola on the scoreboard in the opening frame, followed by a Weseloh RBI single to plate Shaughnessy. The Indians pieced together a substantial lead from there with RBIs from shortstop Kolton Hanson, starting pitcher Landon Shelton, Ruger Boren and second baseman Brock Michael.
Iola poured on the runs from there with every player in the lineup posting an RBI while Weseloh and Boren tied for the team lead in RBIs with two each. Shelton, Pratt, Weseloh and Michael tied for the team lead in hits with two each. Michael also played a role in blunting Pittsburg’s late rally. He picked up the save with a team-leading four strikeouts while Shelton tallied a pair of Ks as the starter.
“I just had to stay confident,” Michael said. “Baseball is 90 percent mental for me. I stayed confident and we played better.”
With the wins, the Indians improve to 9-11 overall and have a week to prepare for the state tournament.
“We end the season with two wins, and Pittsburg was the state champion last year,” Taylor said. “It gives them a lot of confidence heading into next week. The brackets will be released in the next two or three days, so we’ll see where we’re at. I feel like we have the talent and team to win it.”
