A walk-off three-run homer courtesy of Sam Hull in game two ultimately secured Iola’s AA Indians a season sweep of the Garnett Post 48 Muddodgs Wednesday night.
The Indians (21-5) went down 1-0 in both games but scored three runs in the fourth inning of game one before holding off Garnett’s late rally for a 3-2 victory. In game two, Iola scored five runs across the final two innings, including Hull’s homer, for a comeback 7-4 win.
“It felt really good, especially against a close rival like Garnett,” Iola’s Hull said after his walk-off home run. “I think in the last couple weeks I’ve started to get my swing back. I’ve been seeing the ball a lot better out of the pitcher’s hand so that’s been good.”
Game one — 3-2 win
Iola went down in the top of the first thanks to a single from Garnett’s Tyler Stinnett, but a three-run fourth inning was the difference for the Indians in a 3-2 victory. Kaiden Barnett drove in one run and scored another while Trevor Church also knocked in a run. Brandon McKarnin got the win on the mound.
The southpaw was tagged with a couple of runs, the second coming in the fifth. Across a five inning win, McKarnin struck out six while allowing only three hits on two runs. Ashton Hesse earned the save, tossing the final two innings and not allowing a run.
“Just like when I was playing on this same team, we let them stay in it,” Iola head coach Ethan Tavarez said. “We make it a close game and make our jobs harder. We do it to ourselves. Neither game should have been close. This team can get it figured out before zone.”
Barnett doubled to center field in the bottom of the fourth and scored Hull for the first Iola run of the game, knotting the score at 1-1. Barnett then stole home on a wild pitch to take a 2-1 lead before Church singled to third to score Jack White and make it a 3-1 advantage.
The Muddogs brought one more run home in the top of the fifth on a Dallas Kueser RBI single to center field to cut Iola’s lead to 3-2.
“We had bases loaded a couple of times and couldn’t score any of them,” said Tavarez. “We had 11 hits and only scored three runs, so we’re not getting guys across that we need to.”
Hesse was solid on the mound for the Indians in the final two innings, not allowing a hit and striking out three.
Barnett had a team-high three hits while Hull and White each had two.
Game two — 7-4 win
A two-run deficit in the fourth inning turned into a three-run lead and victory for Iola when Hull walked it off on a three-run home run to right center field for the 7-4 victory.
