COLONY — The 1A Crest Lancers may have done the Iola Mustangs a favor in the upcoming regional playoff bracket in Monday’s doubleheader against the 3A West Franklin Falcons.
An extra-inning walk-off RBI single from junior outfielder Lane Yocham in the nightcap lifted the Lancers to a 3-2 victory and created chaos in the 3A regional standings as Iola now assumes the No. 2 spot behind 13-3 Frontenac.
“I was just trying to square up the ball, pick out my pitch and put it in play,” said Yocham, who only had one hit after going 0-4 until that point. “It felt pretty good.”
After allowing a run in the opening frame off an errant pitch, senior catcher Jensen Barker put Crest on the scoreboard with a two-run homerun to center field.
Another party at least partially responsible for the early miscue was senior pitcher Drake Weir, who responded by holding the Falcons scoreless until the seventh inning as he neared his 105 pitch-limit.
“I trusted my coach’s decision, and they put in the right guy,” said Weir, who tallied seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings while allowing two runs on three hits and five walks. “It worked. We play as a team and pick each other up.”
With the game tied, sophomore reliever Koiy Miller came in to tally a pair of strikeouts while keeping the Falcons off the scoreboard through the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
Shifting to the outfield, Weir drew a walk, then advanced to scoring position off a bunt from senior shortstop Henry White. Yocham’s line drive brought him home.
“This proves we can compete,” Weir said. “We’re a small school, and we struggle sometimes. If we play as a team, and work hard, then we can play with anyone.”
The win in the nightcap seemed a culmination of momentum created in the opener, despite coming up short in an 8-5 loss.
After allowing seven unanswered runs, the Lancers found their footing in the fourth inning on a Yocham RBI single, opening a 5-1 run.
Henry White, Crest senior shortstop, throws a runner out during Monday’s doubleheader against West Franklin.
A fifth-inning Weir homer closed the gap to 8-3, then in Crest’s final at-bat Barker closed the gap to 8-4 with an RBI ground. Yocham scored the Lancers’ final run of the opener with a grounder to third, but Barker could not beat the Falcons’ third baseman to the bag.
Sophomore starter Will Disbrow took the loss in the opener, allowing seven runs on four hits and five walks. Sophomore reliever Kole Walter had a team-leading two strikeouts while coming on to start the fifth inning, followed by a strikeout from Yocham, who came on to relieve Disbrow in the fourth inning.
“They battled pretty well in both games, but that one inning got away from us there,” Crest assistant coach Jeff White said. “It was a good team effort, and they’re starting to come around toward the end of the season. They’re playing together and battling through some tough teams.”
“The past couple of weeks we’ve been playing some solid baseball, playing as a team,” White said. “Hopefully, we can carry that into the playoffs.”
The Lancers host Erie Monday for a make-up game after a rainout last month. First pitch is at 3:30 p.m. with the finale scheduled to start at around 5:30.
