The third time was not the charm for the Post 15 Iola Indians as they fell to Garnett 4-1 in the AA Zone championship game Thursday.
The game marked Iola’s third match-up with the Muddogs this season.
It was shaping up to be another defensive battle for the Indians. In the third inning the two teams were tied zero.
It was exactly the same place they had been Wednesday evening, where dominant pitching and defense performances slid Iola past Frontenac, 1-0.
Pitching continued to lead as starter Derek Bycroft pitched the whole game, giving up just one earned run on four hits. Bycroft also recorded eight strikeouts.
However, three more unearned runs on two errors spelled doom for Iola as its defense struggled to live up to its sterling reputation from the first two games of the tournament.
Bycroft also was one of the driving offensive forces for Iola, leading the team with two hits. The Indians out-hit the Muddogs 6-4.
Iola got its only run in the top of the sixth thanks to a Garnett fielding error.
With the five walks that Iola forced, 10 possible runs were left on base for the Indians.
The game ended with the tying run at the plate and two runners in scoring position after Bycroft opened the top of the seventh with a single and Lance Daniels followed right behind with a double.
The loss put pressure on the Indians. They needed a win Friday night versus the winner of Frontenac and Baldwin in order to return to the state tournament in Marysville.
Daylon Splane took the mound Friday night in what was to be his first start since June 19 after recovering from an infected cut that kept him out for three weeks.
Entering Friday, Splane held a .000 ERA over 11 innings and had given up only two hits while recording 18 strikeouts.
Friday’s press time did not allow for a recap of this night’s game to make it into the Weekender edition of the paper, but a full recap is posted on the Register’s website, www.iolaregister.com.
