EMPORIA — For the second-straight Sunday, the A Iola Indians finished the day as champions.
The Indians went 3-1 en route to gold at the Summer Slam Emporia Invitational tournament, earning wins against El Dorado, Topeka’s Kansas Senators, and the host in the title game.
Iola opened the tournament against El Dorado on Saturday in a non-scoring affair until the bottom of the fifth inning. Two Indians scored on wild pitches, plus another run off an error by El Dorado’s shortstop. Trevor Church capped the scoring with an RBI to center field, giving the Indians a 4-0 lead after the fifth.
El Dorado responded with four runs in the top of the sixth, but Iola got the run they needed in the bottom-half of the inning. A long fly ball to right field from Carter Hutton allowed Drake DeLaTorre to cross home, leading to the Indians’ 5-4 win.
Game 2 against Emporia was a different story. The Indians mustered only three hits in the contest, while Emporia’s bats went rampant. Emporia tallied 11 runs off nine hits, handing Iola the 11-1 loss in four innings.
The loss pinned Iola against the Kansas Senators in the semifinals of the tournament on Sunday. Both teams combined for 26 runs in the game that finished in extra innings, with Iola pulling away in the top of the eighth to earn the 14-12 win.
Cooper Riley led the Indians’ offense with a 4-4 day at the plate, finishing with a team-high five RBIs. Also earning four hits was Avery Blaufuss, who also chipped in three RBIs. Hutton and Gavin Page each notched three-hit games, and TJ Tayor along with Eli Adams collected two hits each.
After the win against the Kansas Senators, the championship game’s stage was set. Iola sought revenge against Emporia, after the hosts handed the Indians its first run-rule loss of the season just the day before.
The Indians never trailed, and pulled away to a 5-1 lead after RBIs from DeLaTorre, Page, and Taylor in the top of the second inning. Emporia’s downfall was their miscues in the field, committing eight errors which helped the Indians keep the base paths busy.
Emporia came within one at the end of the fifth inning, but the Indians did not want to leave any doubt in the sixth. Eight runs came across for Iola in the sixth to give Iola a nine-run lead entering the bottom of the sixth.
With Emporia scoring only a single run in the sixth, the eight-run rule after five innings was triggered, giving Iola the 15-7 championship win.
Mac Leonard earned the championship win on the mound, tossing four strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings pitched. Eli Smith relieved Leonard for the remainder of the game, allowing one hit while picking up four strikeouts.
The Indians will be at the Humboldt Sports Complex on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for a doubleheader with Pittsburg, before hosting rival Chanute on Wednesday.
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The AA Iola Indians will be in action at Burlington at 6 o’clock tonight. The Indians are currently 4-0 on the season, with score updates available on Twitter @IolaSports for games all summer long.
