CHANUTE — With an overpowering fastball, deceptive breaking pitches and pin-point control, Trey Sommer had things well in hand Tuesday.
Sommer, pitching for Iola’s junior American Legion squad, tossed a four-inning one-hitter in a 14-0 victory over Garnett in an elimination game of the A American Legion Zone Tournament.
By the time the game reached the top of the fourth, the only remaining intrigue was whether Sommer could complete a perfect game.
Alas, a single Garnett batter reached with two outs on an infield single, narrowly beating out third baseman Brigg Michael’s throw to first.
Undaunted, Sommer struck out the next Garnett batter to end the contest, his eighth strikeout of the game.
The game was shortened to four innings after the Indians plated nine in the bottom of the third to trigger the 10-run mercy rule.
“Trey’s pitching shut them down,” Indians head coach Bob Johnson said. “And the kids were pretty balanced at the plate. They were pretty disciplined. We ask them not to swing at balls, even when they’re ahead in the count.”
The victory came two days after a disappointing 4-3 loss to Pittsburg to open the tournament that relegated Iola into the elimination bracket.
Iola must win Thursday against host Chanute (an 8-3 winner over Ottawa Tuesday) and then defeat either Pittsburg or Overbrook on Friday for a chance to extend their season to next week’s Class A State Tournament in Salina.
On the bright side, Iola will have a nearly full arsenal of pitching. But the Indians also will be without three starters because of family vacations or Allen County Fair commitments.
“That’s why we play younger kids early in the season,” Johnson said. “It’s the next man up philosophy. We’re not going to make excuses.”
IT DIDN’T take long for Iola’s offense to hit its groove.
Sommer singled and Jarrett Herrmann walked to lead off the second. Courtesy runner Landon Weide scored on a throwing error before Korbin Cloud gave the Indians an early charge with a two-run double down the left field line for a 3-0 advantage.
Gavin Page singled in Cloud before scoring on Carter Hutton’s base hit.
Iola loaded the bases with nobody out in the third with runs scoring on a passed ball, grounder and bases-loaded walk before Brandon McKarnin served up the next big blow, a bases-clearing double to make it 12-0. He then scored on Sommer’s line drive single. Ashton Hesse’s single brought in Weide for the final run of the contest.
