Indians advance to state semi-finals

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July 26, 2019 - 4:33 PM

Ryker Curry on the mound for Iola against Great Bend on Thursday. After a disappointing performance against Great Bend, Curry rebounded against Salina on Friday to lead Iola to a 8-2 win. REGISTER/ERICK MITCHELL

After a shocking defeat to Great Bend on Thursday, the A Iola Indians had one last chance to keep their semi-final hopes alive on Friday at the Junior American Legion Kansas State tournament. 

Trailing by two runs, the Indians rallied back to win 8-2. 

On Thursday, the Indians intended to follow up their shutout win against Marysville Wednesday night with another stellar outing against Great Bend. Earlier in the season, Iola played Great Bend in a wood-bat tournament and comfortably won 9-2. Unfortunately, a repeat performance was not in the cards. 

However, the Indians did have an early lead. In the first with two outs on the board, Ryker Curry started the rally with a ground-ball single to right field. Bradyn Cole followed with a single, and next batter Drake Sellman, tripled to score both runners and hand Iola a 2-0 lead. 

Great Bend responded in the bottom half to tie it up, and took the lead 3-2 in the second. Iola tied the score in the third, but never managed to get the bats firing on all cylinders. 

In the bottom half of the third with two outs, head coach Troy Smith was thinking ahead, and pulled pitcher Nathan Louk to preserve him for a Saturday semi-final and brought in Ryker Curry. Curry was unable to get a third out, and gave up five runs to put Iola in a 3-8 hole, from which they never recovered. The Indians ended up losing 4-12.

Friday’s win over Salina was not a given, considering Salina beat the Indians 5-1 earlier in the season.

Neither team was able to score until the fifth. Salina took a two-run lead in the top half of the fifth, but the Indians lived up to their gritty nature and brought themselves back in the game and took the lead in the bottom half. 

TJ Taylor kicked off the inning reaching on a walk, and Kole Rogers’ single to right field put runners on first and second. After Drake DeLaTorre flied out to right field, the speedy Taylor was able to advance to third. Louk’s RBI line drive single to right field brought home Taylor and moved Rogers over to third. After Eli Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Cole reached on a walk to force a runner home and tie the score at 2-2. With the bases loaded, Sellman hit a bases-clearing double to center field to give Iola a 5-2 lead. 

After a poor outing on the mound against Great Bend, Curry had a shot at redemption against Salina. Curry was tough as nails for Iola, allowing only one run in his 5 ? innings pitched before being replaced by Rogers. 

“When we gave up two runs, Ryker buckled right back down,” head coach Troy Smith said. “He threw the fastball well, and spotted his breaking ball. Ryker was able to get a lot of ground balls that turned into outs, and it helped we played a lot better defense today than we did against Great Bend.” 

The Indians added three more insurance runs in the sixth. Once more, the bases were loaded, and Iola again. Curry brought home three runs for Iola with a bases clearing double to right field to give Iola the 8-2 lead. 

“The two bases-clearing doubles were huge for us,” Smith emphasized. “We had a joke in the dugout during the game that we are never able to hit with the bases loaded, and to convert twice in one game was amazing.”

Rogers maintained a strong presence for Iola, as the Indians were able to run away with the 8-2 victory. The win over Salina has Iola’s pool play record at 2-1, and a spot in the semi-final of the state tournament as they hold the tiebreaker over Great Bend via runs allowed. The Indians will start Louk in the semi-final on the mound, and if Iola is able to reach the championship game, they will pitch by committee with Trevor Church, Smith, and Rogers still available. 

The Indians are unaware of their seeding and opponent at the moment, but updates will be available on Twitter @IolaSports. 

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