PITTSBURG — Iola’s Senior American Legion squad continued their torrid play of late.
The Post 15 Indians extended their winning streak to eight Thursday with a doubleheader sweep of the Pittsburg Summer Dragons, 6-1 and 16-1.
Iola (14-3) will travel to Burlington Tuesday for two games and to Fort Scott on Thursday for another doubleheader.
Pitching depth will likely play a role in the team’s success.
On Thursday, Indian pitchers Kyler Isbell and Rogan Weir shut down Pittsburg on three hits over seven innings in the opener before Trey Sommer threw three innings of two-hit ball in the nightcap.
Meanwhile, Iola’s lineup erupted for six runs in the top of the second in Game 1. Sommer and Grady Dougherty hit back-to-back doubles to open the scoring before Logan Page knocked an RBI single, Avery Blaufuss drove in a run with a grounder and Cole Mathes beat out an infield single for yet another tally. Korbin Cloud got into the act with a run-scoring single before Blake Ellis knocked in the sixth run with a ground ball to short. Pittsburg’s lone run of the game came on a sixth-inning Indians error.
Isbell allowed two hits over five innings with six strikeouts. Weir tossed two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit.
Sommer and Dougherty had Iola’s two doubles. Mathes singled twice; Isbell and Page had the other hits.
BACK-TO-BACK errors to start the nightcap greased the skids for a pair of Iola runs in the top of the first. Blake Ellis drove in a run with a grounder and Dougherty hit an RBI double.
The Summer Dragons responded with a run in the bottom of the first, but Sommer struck out the final two batters with the bases loaded to prevent further damage.
Mathes reached on an error to start the second inning before Brody Gunderman and Blaufuss connected on back-to-back doubles, making it 4-1. Cloud and Ellis walked to load the bases for Weir’s two-run single. Another Pittsburg error preceded Dougherty’s two-run single, followed by Isbell’s sacrifice fly. Page cleared the bases with a triple, making it 10-1.
Another big rally followed in the third.
Weir and Isbell both had RBI singles before Page doubled in a run, followed by run-scoring singles from Mathes and Gunderman to cap the scoring.
Sommer struck out eight batters over three innings.
Every Indians batter scored at least one run, while eight of the nine starters had hits. Page led the way with a double and triple, while Dougherty and Gunderman both had a single and double. Blaufuss chipped in with a double; Weir singled twice; Cloud, Sommer, Isbell and Mathes all singled.
