INDEPENDENCE — The A Iola Indians rebounded from their two losses last week against Chanute to win both games against Independence on Tuesday.
The Indians’ power at the plate was too much for the Montgomery County Cardinals. Iola won both games, taking game 1 10-4 and game 2 14-7.
The Indians never trailed at any point against the Cardinals, opening the two-game series with two runs in the first. Cooper Riley brought in the runs off a Cardinal error, and Gavin Page added to that lead with an RBI in the second.
Trevor Church was given the game 1 start on the mound, and allowed one run to cross in the second. The Indians scored two runs in the top-half of the fourth, but saw those canceled out in the bottom half of the inning.
Trey Sommer relieved Church for the final 2 2/3 innings. The Indians pulled away in the sixth, scoring five runs off RBIs from Church, Page, TJ Taylor, and Drake DeLaTorre to earn the 10-4 win.
Game 2 was more of the same for the Indians. An RBI from DeLaTorre and a run from Riley on a wild pitch got the Indians on the board in the first. The Indians followed that up with three more runs in the second courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Mac Leonard, and an RBI each from Page and Taylor.
The Indians’ offense was just as potent in the third and fourth innings. A line-drive single from Carter Hutton scored DeLaTorre, and an RBI double belonging to Sommer added two more runs in the third. Riley’s two-RBI single in the fourth made the score 9-1 after three-and-a-half innings.
Leonard earned the start on the mound for the Indians. The soon-to-be Mustang tallied two strikeouts while allowing only two hits and two earned runs in 3 2/3 innings of work. Avery Blaufuss finished the game, notching a single strikeout and relinquishing two hits along with two earned runs.
The Cardinals inched closer in the fourth with four runs to make the score 9-5 with three innings remaining. Iola pushed out in front in the sixth, scoring five runs to take a nine-run lead. The Indians collected 16 hits, committing only one error in the 14-7 victory.
The Indians will be on the road again tonight at Emporia. On Thursday they are home for a doubleheader with Ottawa.
