OTTAWA — The Iola A Indians traveled to Ottawa on Thursday in a tune-up effort for Friday and Saturday’s games at the Fort Scott Adam LaRoche 16U tournament.
Even though not at full strength, Iola powered its way to 8-6 and 11-7 victories.
In game 1, the Indians took advantage in the second inning. Drake DeLaTorre and Trevor Church each collected an RBI, giving the Indians a 2-0 lead.
The Indians’ bats continued to make noise in the third. With the bases loaded, Carter Hutton brought home Trey Sommer on a sacrifice fly to center field, and a poor throw home allowed Cooper Riley to score. Iola controlled the scoreboard 5-0 entering the bottom of the third.
On the mound, Brandon McKarnin pitched the first 1 2/3 innings. He finished with four strikeouts and kept them hitless in his brief stint. Jack White replaced McKarnin in the second to get the final out, but in the third, Ottawa battled back.
Ottawa scored three unearned runs in the third, pulling within 5-3. The Indians added an insurance run in the fifth, but Ottawa rallied to tie the game at 6-6 entering the seventh.
Not to be denied a win, the Indian offense answered the call in the seventh. Sommer collected his first RBI of the day with a double to left field, scoring TJ Taylor to give Iola the one-run advantage. Two batters later, McKarnin collected his third hit of the game with an RBI double to score Sommer.
Mac Leonard silenced Ottawa on the mound in the seventh, earning the save to help the Indians stamp the 8-6 victory. 
In game 2, the Indians started fast and didn’t look back. A two-RBI double from Sommer opened the scoring in the first, and the Indians later added three more in the inning off Ottawa’s mishaps. The Indians led 5-0 entering the bottom of the first.
Leonard’s arm was given the nod for game 2, this time earning the start. His appearance didn’t last the inning, however, and he was replaced by TJ Taylor. It was Taylor’s first mound appearance of the season, collecting two strikeouts and allowing only a single hit in 3 ⅔ innings of work.
Ottawa tallied a run in each of the first two innings to inch its way back. The Indians answered with three more runs in the third to regain their breathing room. McKarnin earned his second RBI of the evening with a sharply hit ball to center field, scoring Leonard.
Sommer snatched his third RBI of the nightcap with a sacrifice fly, allowing Eli Adams to tag-up from third. The Indians scored three runs in the frame, taking an 8-2 lead at the game’s mid-way point.
After three runs from Ottawa in the bottom of the third closed the gap, and a quiet fourth from both teams, Iola added three more runs in the fifth and final inning. Two Ottawa errors led to two Indian runs, and Cooper Riley capped the Indian scoring for the evening with an RBI double.
The two victories move Iola to 6-3 on the season. The Indians will be in action at Fort Scott today to start the Adam LaRoche 16U tournament. Be sure to follow @iolasports on Twitter for all of the latest Indian updates.
