OTTAWA — Iola’s A American Legion baseball team took the “next man up” approach Tuesday in nabbing a pair of victories.
With four regulars out of the lineup due to schedule conflicts, the Indians cruised past Ottawa, 14-1 and 4-2.
“Everybody stepped up and did well,” head coach Bob Johnson said.
Indeed.
The Indians took advantage of 10 Ottawa walks to manufacture three in the first, eight in the second and three more in the third to take control in Game 1.
And while the usual suspects were their typically dominant selves — starting pitcher Trevor Church allowed just one hit with five strikeouts, and Holden Barker had two doubles and five RBIs — the key to the victory was receiving contributions up and down the lineup, Johnson said.
“We had timely hitting,” Johnson said. “Gavin Page really hit the ball well, he ran the bases well, and made some tremendous plays at shortstop.”
Barker had a hand in each of the three innings, drilling an RBI single in the first, followed by two-run doubles in both the second and third frames.
Page had a pair of singles, and came on in relief two score 1 ⅔ shutout innings with a strikeout.
Briggs Michael also had a single.
Church’s solid outing shrank his earned run average to a miniscule 0.43 thus far in 2021.
THE shorthanded roster meant calling in a reserve, Nolan Bradley, to handle the pitching duties for Game 2.
“Nolan’s a kid we’ve known for a long time,” Johnson said of the youth who lives in Douglas County, and has extensive experience on traveling teams.
Bradley pitched into the fifth, allowing four hits with six strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Page singled and scored on Barker’s double in the top of the first to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.
