CONCORDIA — It was perhaps fitting that the Concordia Sports Complex — site of this year’s Kansas American Legion Class AA State Tournament — is situated along Cloud Street, right next to the Cloud Village housing complex in the heart of Cloud County.
It’s where Iola’s Korbin Cloud on Monday put the finishing touches on Iola’s third consecutive AA state championship.
Cloud pitched 5.2 innings of sterling baseball as the Post 15 Indians rebounded from a tough loss earlier in the day to knock off Hiawatha 10-3 to secure the championship.
In doing so, Iola becomes the second Kansas American Legion team ever — Yates Center did so from 1968 to 1970 — to win three straight crowns.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling,” Iola head coach TJ Taylor said.
Cloud celebrated with a back flip after the final out was recorded, a notable feat after Iola played five games over four days, ending with Monday’s sweltering doubleheader.
“We had a lot of confidence in him to basically go out and win that for us,” Taylor said.
THE 10-3 final score belied the nerve wracking roller-coaster Iola endured through Monday’s proceedings.
The Indians entered the day needing only to win once against a powerful Hiawatha squad, the same team that battled Iola tooth and nail a day earlier before the Indians rallied to secure a 13-10 win in the semifinal round.
The Sunday game proved pivotal because it meant the Indians had to play one fewer game in the double-elimination tournament. Hiawatha had to play an extra game in the consolation bracket Sunday evening, a 7-6 thriller over Corning to earn a rematch. (More on that later)
And the Braves took that momentum to heart, riding the left arm of Cooper Jacobson, who tossed a one-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over Iola to set up a winner-take-all rubber match.
Iola’s unbeaten romp through the winners bracket allowed the Indians to keep Cloud in reserve for the “final” championship game, even though he had already pitched Friday.
But he was so dominant in Friday’s opener, throwing only 60 pitches (while striking out 10 of the 14 batters he faced) in an 8-0 win over Norton, it meant he was able to use his full allotment of 105 pitches on Monday.
There, Cloud squared off against Hiawatha’s Cooper Wischropp, and both cruised through the first two innings.
Iola’s offense finally found its rhythm in the top of the third. Wischropp retired the first two batters before Blake Ellis lined a single to center. Rogan Weir walked on four pitches, putting runners on first and second.
