By JOCELYN SHEETS
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Iola High’s Mustangs needed a break to go their way Thursday night. They didn’t get one.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh in the second game of the Southeast Kansas League doubleheader, the Mustangs needed something to happen. A share of the SEK baseball championship was on the line.
Junior center fielder Jerrik Sigg delivered with a leadoff triple. That was the tying run.
Pittsburg High’s Purple Dragons were also stalking the title. They had pounded out a 13-1, run-rule victory in five innings for the opener.
They called on their ace Jordan Elliott, the winning pitcher in the first game. He came on in relief of Joe Wimmer, who had limited Iola to two singles until the seventh.
Iola’s Corey Taylor bunted into the air. It was caught by Elliott. Elliott then used a high fastball to strikeout Braden Larson.
Mason Coons caught up with a pitch, hitting it to the third base side. In a bang-bang play at first, Coons was out.
The game was over. Pittsburg celebrated a co-championship with Columbus.
Mustang players’ faces showed the disbelief that it was done. Coons walked past first base and Sigg, who had gone home on the play, laid face down in the grass behind home plate.
Iola went into the final doubleheader of the regular season with high hopes. The Mustangs were the only team that could win the SEK title outright. All they had to do was sweep the Dragons.
A split of the pair of games at Allen County Community College Red Devil Field meant the Mustangs would share the title with Columbus. A pair of losses dropped the Mustangs to third place.
Pittsburg and Columbus finished at 13-3 in SEK action. The Mustangs went 12-4 and finished 16-4 overall.
It is the best league finish for the Mustangs in their seven-year history. They were picked to finish seventh this season in the SEK.
Pittsburg scored its run in the fourth inning of the second game. Dylan Gromer singled and moved to second on a sacrifice. With two out, Gromer broke for third base and Iola catcher Drew Walden attempted to throw Gromer out.
Unfortunately, the throw sailed over the head of Iola third base- man Braden Larson. Gromer raced home to score.
Jarred Latta took the pitching loss. He went five innings as Iola’s starter and allowed one unearned run on three hits and one walk. He struck out one.
Levi Ashmore pitched two scoreless innings for the Mustangs. He worked out of trouble in the seventh, helped by Walden.
Pittsburg’s leadoff hitter reached on an error and went to second on a wild pitch. Ashmore hit a batter but Walden picked off the runner at second.
A collision between Latta and Sigg in left center might have hurt the players but Sigg hung onto the ball for the second out. Ashmore rang-up his second strikeout of the game.
Ashmore and Coons each had a single in the game.
The first game got away from the Mustangs. The Dragons scored twice in the third and Iola responded with a run in its half of the inning.
Ashmore doubled, then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Clint Heffern. Sigg’s ground-out brought in the run.
Pittsburg got up 3-1 after four innings. Then the Dragons cashed in on four Iola errors, two walks and seven hits in the fifth. They scored 10 runs.
Sigg pitched four innings and allowed three runs on five hits and one walk. He struck out six.
Clint Heffern was charged with six runs on three hits and two walks in a third of an inning. Coons pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on four hits and one walk. Coons had one strikeout.
Larson hit two doubles and Heffern had a single and a double. Ashmore had a double.
Iola gets ready for Kansas Class 4A Regional play. The Mustangs are the No. 2 seeded team in the Spring Hill regional.
They play Louisburg at noon Monday at Spring Hill High School.
Dragons snatch SEK title from Mustangs
