COFFEYVILLE — Iola’s AA American Legion baseball team played well early and late Thursday evening.
The Indians jumped out to an early lead to defeat Montgomery County, 7-1, in the opener.
But a lackadaisical start to the nightcap put Iola in a hole.
The Indians rallied in the fifth and final inning, and had the tying run on third base, but could not push across the equalizer in a 5-4 defeat.
The split puts Iola at 6-4.
The Indians will be at Burlington for a doubleheader Tuesday before hosting Pittsburg for two on Wednesday.
Iola plated five runs in the top of the first of Game 1, keyed by Bradyn Cole’s two-run triple. He then scored on Dillon Bycroft’s ground ball. A Montgomery County error with two outs preceded a walk to Eli Smith and Aiden Jones’s RBI single. Another Montgomery County error allowed Smith to scamper home for a 5-0 lead.
That was more than enough for Cole, who pitched a complete-game three-hitter, while striking out four. Montgomery County’s only tally came as an unearned run in the bottom of the first.
Iola tacked onto its lead when Nathan Louk tripled to lead off the second. He scored on Ryker Curry’s sacrifice fly to left.
Drake DeLaTorre singled with one out in the fifth. He stole a base and scored on TJ Taylor’s single for the final tally.
“We just followed Bradyn’s lead,” Iola head coach John Taylor said. “We hit when we needed to, and Bradyn pitched a great game.”
Cole aided his own cause with a single and triple. DeLaTorre had a pair of singles. Louk tripled, while Curry, TJ Taylor and Jones had singles.
But after Iola’s blistering start, the Indians seemed to lose focus at bat, Taylor said.
The trend continued into the nightcap, even after Iola jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead.
Louk singled and scored on Bycroft’s single. Cole, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, then came around to score on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.
