The Post 15 Iola Indians baseball team moved one step closer to returning to the state tournament Wednesday night as they beat the Frontenac Post 43 Raiders 1-0 to advance to the Zone championship game.
As the score suggests, nothing came easy for either team and it would have to be Iola’s pitching and defense that won the day.
Led by starting pitcher Ben Cooper, pitching in his final game at home in an Iola uniform, the Indians kept throwing zeros on the board until outfielder Daylon Splane finally was able to put a ball in play leading Lance Daniels to send him home a couple of batters later on a pop-fly.
The defense was locked in the entire game. Seemingly an inning didn’t go by where someone didn’t make a huge play to keep the shutout alive.
“From the first bat of the game, (outfielder Kane Rogers), who’s not known for his speed, runs a ball down in the gap to get the first out,” head coach Rick Vink said. “That set the tone for the rest of the game. I think we rolled three double plays and everyone was on point.”
Vink knew even before the tournament started how important Wednesday evening’s game would be and that the potential for Cooper to go out with a very special performance was definitely there.
Cooper went into the top of the seventh inning with a hit and two balls throughout the previous six innings. With the lead and the defense that had made play after play all evening, Cooper was confident he could close out the game.
“It’s hard to be nervous when you’re focused,” Cooper said.
After an early hit got erased thanks to a Frontenac runner getting caught stealing between first and second base, there was nothing stopping Cooper from taking a final victory in front of a friendly crowd.
“I told him that I was giving him the ball on Wednesday,” Vink said. “And I also told him that when the game was over and he’d won, he was going to walk off the mound and tip his cap and that’s exactly what happened. I couldn’t be more proud of the kid, he’s deserving of it. I told him to give me everything he had.”
Cooper finished the day with a full seven innings pitched with two hits and two walks.
“I’ve been playing here a long time,” Cooper said. “It feels good to come out and pitch like that for my last game.”
Now the Indians can set their sights on the championship game where a familiar opponent awaits them.
Iola has faced Garnett twice this season and has walked away with wins both times. But, the history goes a little bit deeper than that.
After Garnett defeated Iola in the opening round of last year’s Zone tournament, the Indians sent the Muddogs packing with two losses to clinch the zone championship.
Needless to say, there isn’t a whole lot of love lost between the two teams.
“Ever since then they haven’t liked us very much,” Vink said.
The Indians’ Derek Bycroft will be taking the mound Thursday to try to close the tournament out.
“We’re right where want to be,” Vink said. “We have one game left and we’ve got Derek on the mound and three other really good pitchers behind him. We’re ready to go.”
First pitch is schedule for 8 p.m. at Monarch Employee Field in Humboldt.
OUT ON TOP: Cooper leads Indians to championship game in final home start
