An extra-inning, walk-off home run gave the Iola Hormigas a 12-10 win over the Blackwell Flycatchers in their final game of the season at the campus of Allen Community College.
After making a costly outfield error earlier in the contest, Hormigas first baseman Zach Trangmar redeemed himself and more with a two-run homer in the 11th inning of Tuesday’s game to snap the Hormigas’ four-game losing streak.
“I looked at my pitcher and said ‘I’m sorry. I’m going to make it up to you,’” Trangmar said. “I got a base hit, then an RBI, but it was not good enough. I got into a two strike count and didn’t think he was going to throw me a fastball but he did. I thought I hit a pop-up, but it kept going.”
Trangmar’s home run was the culmination of a 10-inning rally, facing a 6-0 deficit after the opening frame. In the third inning, a sacrifice fly by third baseman Julio Zamora and an RBI single by Xander Neighbors pulled Iola within a pair of runs. Blackwell attempted to pull away with a pair of runs in the fourth inning and a run in the eighth but as their pitchers became more erratic in the later innings, Iola’s pitchers kept their composure.
“Monday, after the game, Xander said ‘I have unfinished business with them,’” Iola manager Derrick Dominguez said. “We knew we just had to get to the eighth inning to give ourselves a chance and that’s what we did.”
After allowing six runs out of the gate, starter T.C. Burns settled in over the next four innings, pitching for contact and letting his defense do most of the heavy lifting with a single strikeout. Dominguez opted for reliever Javion Rodricks in the sixth, who held Blackwell scoreless through 2 1/3 innings with a pair of strikeouts. Dominguez opted for Nabors to come in as closer in the eighth. While typically used sparingly, Dominguez rode Nabors’ hot hand until the finish as the closer tallied a team-leading five strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings to give the Hormigas a chance to win in their final at-bat.
“I wanted to close this game. I thought, we should never lose to this team and I wanted to make sure of it tonight,” said Nabors, who also had a team-leading three RBIs while successful in 3 of 5 at-bats. “I told Derrick, ‘Put me in in the eighth.’ I gave up one run after that. I thought, no more, end it right here tonight.”
Iola capitalized on costly Blackwell mistakes in the eighth and ninth innings. While attempting to prevent shortstop Antuan Franco from stealing second, Flycatchers catcher Jesus Valencia’s throw allowed Hormigas outfielder Amari Kemp to score from third. Franco pulled Iola within a run following a wild pitch.
Another infield gamble in the ninth allowed Iola to take the game into extra innings. With runners on first and third and one out, Zamora hit a hard chopper to Blackwell shortstop Markus Bracey. Instead of throwing home to prevent the game-tying run, Bracey rolled the dice looking for a game-winning double play.
Instead, Zamora beat the throw to first, allowing the tying run to score and take the game into extra innings.
“I had a feeling. One pitch is all it takes for Zach,” Dominguez said. “One pitch and he won us the game. It’s awesome. TC gave up six runs in the first inning, but they were hitting him hard. You get lucky and he went out there and worked every inning.”
With the win, the Hormigas improve to 13-28. As a long shot for the playoffs, and certainly not returning to Allen if they qualified due to their low seed in the playoffs, Tuesday served as the Hormigas’ final home game of the season. Trangmar said many players are hopeful to return to what they consider their summer home when the Hormigas and the Pecos League comes back in the summer of 2026. 
“The culture over here, the community here, is phenomenal,” Trangmar said. “They treated us well. They gave us a place to live and good food over here as well. You can’t ask for more.”
