PITTSBURG — Some sterling pitching and opportunistic hitting turned into a pair of victories for Iola’s Post 15 Indians Tuesday.
The Senior American Legion squad rallied late on Trey Sommer’s two-run single in the top of the seventh to break a 3-3 deadlock and win, 5-3, in Game 1.
Post 15’s Logan Page followed that up with a five-inning masterpiece, shutting out Pittsburg on two hits in a 4-0 win.
The sweep extends the Indians’ winning streak to six as Iola (12-3) returns to Pittsburg Thursday to take on the Summer Dragons in a doubleheader.
Grady Dougherty’s two-run single got things started for Iola in the opener, but Pittsburg responded quickly, taking advantage of a walk, single and dropped third strike to knot the score at 2-2 after one.
Indians pitcher Korbin Cloud settled down nicely from there. He struck out eight over five innings, allowing one earned run and five hits.
Rogan Weir’s two-out single gave Iola a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth, but Pittsburg’s Tucker Aikin evened the score once again with an RBI single of his own in the bottom half.
That set the stage for Sommer’s late heroics. Sommer also handled the pitching duties over the final two innings, retiring the Patriots in order in both the sixth and seventh innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Sommer led the offense with a pair of singles. Cloud, Blake Ellis, Weir, Dougherty, Kyler Isbell and Avery Blaufuss also had singles.
Game 2 featured more of the same.
Cloud singled, Ellis walked and Weir bunted for a hit to load the bases for Sommer with nobody out in the top of the first.
Sommer promptly smacked a line drive to left, plating two. Page followed with a sac fly, making it 3-0.
That was all Page needed on the mound. He struck out six over five innings.
The closest he came to a jam was when a hit batter and single put runners on first and second with one out in the second. Page ended the threat with a strikeout and ground ball.
Weir walked to lead off the third and moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Isbell’s two-out single.
