Baughn’s walk-off single caps rally for sweep over Garnett

By

Sports

June 20, 2017 - 12:00 AM

Iola Indians Single-A coach Brian Dillow has maintained that he wants his team to build to the point where it is playing  its best baseball when the Zone Tournament begins.
With the tournament less than a month away, Dillow’s Indians appear to be doing just that.
On Monday, the Indians swept their northern rivals Garnett, 14-7 and 12-11.
After the relative ease that the Indians dispatched Garnett with in the first game, the second looked to be a bit of a letdown early with Garnett taking a 10-2 lead into the bottom of the fourth.
Dillow’s team kept coming though.
“I’m extremely proud,” Dillow said. “It shows me that this team never quits and it never dies. For them to come back like that it proves it. It shows this team will never die. No matter the score, we won’t die.”
In the home half of the fourth, a relatively new face to the Indians — but a familiar one to fans of Iola youth sports — Isaac Badders led off the inning with a single.
Badders was substituting in for the Indians, who were missing several players. Kole Rogers and Eli Smith also were fill-ins.
“They are young kids,” Dillow said. “It tells you a lot about these 14 year-old kids that they can come up and work with these 15 and 16 year-olds. It is nice, because they will be playing with them next year. For them to do that, I’m proud of them. I’m proud of them all.”
The transition is minimal for the players as they have been playing together of different teams for a long time.
“They are great ballplayers,” Iola third baseman Hunter Baughn said. “I’ve known them all my life.”
A pair of Garnett mistakes allowed Xavier Bauer to reach base — after Badders’ hit — on an error and with one out, Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Baughn unloaded them with a drive to left field that plated a pair of runs.
Teryn Johnson followed suit with a double of his own to left that cut the lead to 10-6.
Rogers kept the line moving by ducking a tag attempt at first base and reaching safely.
A double by Kyle O’Neal scored both Johnson and Rogers to bring the team within 10-8.
The score remained there going into the fifth and final inning.
The Indians’ struggled with their control early and walked the bases loaded with nobody out. That prompted Dillow to go to his bullpen and insert Rogers.
Rogers rewarded his coach by striking out the first two batters he faced to keep the bases full with two gone.
Rogers struck out the next batter too, but a dropped third strike allowed a runner to score and the bases remained loaded.
Rogers stayed confident though and struck out the next batter for a rare four-strikeout inning and the Indians went to the bottom of the fifth trailing 11-8.
“It is tough for any pitcher to come in with the bases loaded,” Dillow said. “You are putting a lot of pressure on them to throw strikes but we knew that Kole can handle it. For him to come in and do that, he is a gamer. He is just a gamer.”
The offense kept its momentum from the previous inning though and Drake Sellman led off with a single and Badders followed with a triple to immediate put the pressure on Garnett.
Bauer drew a walk before a Logan Dillow two-strike single scored Badders.
Bauer scored on a wild pitch to tie the game and Dillow advanced to third with still no outs.
After Garnett induced a pop-out, tensions began to rise as it appeared that Garnett could possibly escape and force extra innings.
Baughn quickly ended those fears as he hit a walk-off single to score Baughn and give Iola the sweep.
“Hunter is a great hitter but he is hard on himself,” Coach Dillow said. “For him to get that big hit will do wonders for him. He needed that, he really did.”
Baughn was already feeling that confidence take hold after the game.
“It felt great,” Baughn said. “It felt good for me and good for my team. I feel like we are going to go on a good winning streak now.”
The Indians stared the year slow, but Baughn likes how his team is looking now.
“I think this team is perfect,” Baughn said. “Everyone of these players has great talent and I think we a going to be really good.”

GAME ONE
Game one lacked the drama of game two as Teryn Johnson was staked a big lead early with Iola 13 runs in the first two innings and cruising to a 14-7 victory.
Johnson pitched six-plus innings to earn the victory.

UP NEXT
The Single-A Indians will hit the road on Wednesday when they travel to  Mound City for a doubleheader starting at 6 p.m.

Related
July 19, 2023
July 12, 2023
June 16, 2023
July 11, 2018