SEDALIA, Mo. — Even without several starters, Iola’s Senior American Legion squad continues to rack up the wins as the 2024 summer season hits the home stretch.
The Post 15 Indians were in Sedalia over the weekend for the Mo-Kan Showdown, featuring standout squads from both sides of the state line.
Iola — which had several players from the Junior American Legion squad in the lineup — went 2-1, blasting Lee’s Summit, 16-3, dropping a 2-1 nailbiter to Oak Grove and rebounding with a 7-4 win over host Sedalia.
The 2-1 weekend puts Iola at 21-5 as the Indians wrap up the regular season with doubleheaders on Tuesday at Ottawa and Thursday at Chanute.
Iola 16, Lee’s Summit 3
Every Iola batter either drove in or scored a run, including Brody Gundermnan’s four RBIs.
Iola scored in every inning, leading 4-0 after two innings and 10-1 after three.
Iola took advantage of 10 walks and five Lee’s Summit errors as well.
Brandon McKarnin started the scoring with a first-inning sacrifice fly. Gunderman scored on a wild pitch two batters later to make it 2-0.
Tre Wilson and Easton Weseloh both walked to lead off the second inning. They moved up a base on a balk and both scored on Gunderman’s sac fly.
Avery Blaufuss got into the act in the third with a two-run double. Weseloh and Rogan Weir followed with RBI singles. A Lee’s Summit fielding error brought Weseloh and Weir home for a 10-0 advantage.
Cole Mathes singled with one out in the fourth. He scored on Wilson’s grounder. Gunderman singled in the fifth and stole both second and third, before scoring after the ball got away from the Lee’s Summit catcher.
Mathes singled and scored, Gunderman chased home Weseloh with an RBI double, and Gunderman scored the final run on Trey Sommer’s double.
That was more than enough for Gavin Jones, who limited Lee’s Summit to five hits over six innings with four strikeouts.
Offensively, Gunderman went 2-for 4 with a double. Sommer also singled and doubled, while Weir and Mathes both singled twice. Blaufuss added a double, while Weseloh chipped in with a single.
Oak Grove 2, Iola 1
Hits were decidedly harder to come by against Oak Grove pitcher Logan Hernandez, who limited Iola to two hits over seven innings.
