FORT SCOTT — Give ’em an inch…
Iola’s Senior American Legion squad extended its winning streak to 12 games Thursday, by taking full advantage of some erratic late pitching, and doing so in dramatic fashion.
The Indians trailed Fort Scott’s E3 Freedom squad most of the way in the nightcap of their doubleheader before rallying for three runs in the top of the seventh and final innings.
They did so while recording only one hit during the rally, Ryan Golden’s RBI single. By then, Fort Scott already had walked four batters, misplayed a hard grounder for a run-scoring error, and allowed Iola to take the lead for good on a wild pitch.
The 6-4 victory came on the heels of Friday’s opener, an 11-1 rout.
Iola (18-3) returns to action Tuesday when two-time defending AAA state champion Pittsburg comes to town. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the Allen Community College baseball diamond.
THURSDAY’S nightcap put Iola in an unfamiliar position — behind on the scoreboard. In their previous 11 straight victories, the Indians had trailed only three times in the course of those games for a combined four innings.
But Fort Scott pushed across an early run and held a 1-0 lead until Iola’s Tre Sommer singled to lead off the fourth, stole second and third and scored on Brandon McKarnin’s RBI grounder.
Fort Scott responded promptly, breaking the deadlock with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning.
Iola closed the gap with a two-out rally in the top of the fifth. Blake Ellis walked and moved to third on Rogan Weir’s single. The Ellis-Weir combo accounted for a double-steal, with Ellis scampering home to close the deficit to 3-2.
McKarnin then tripled to lead off the sixth, where he scored on an infield single from Brody Gunderman to knot the score at 3-3.
But a leadoff walk in the bottom of the frame proved costly when the runner came around to score with two outs, pushing Iola in arrears once again, 4-3.
That set the stage for Iola after Fort Scott’s Tyler Anderson had to exit because he had reached his pitch limit. With a new pitcher struggling to find the strike zone, Ellis reached on a four-pitch walk. Weir walked on five pitches, putting runners on first and second for Sommer. Sommer’s hard grounder was misplayed by the Fort Scott second baseman, allowing Ellis to score to tie the game at 4-4. Weir scored on a wild pitch, and Iola had its first lead of the game. Two more walks loaded the bases for Golden, who lined a single to right field, driving home Sommer, although Iola was denied an opportunity to extend its lead further when McKarnin was thrown out at the plate.
By then, it didn’t matter. McKarnin slammed the door on any potential Fort Scott rally with a 1-2-3 seventh to secure the save, with a pair of strikeouts.
Kyler Isbell got the start, allowing just two hits over five innings with four strikeouts. Gavin Jones pitched an inning of relief, allowing one hit with a strikeout.
