They can’t all be works of art.
Iola’s AA American Legion baseball team struggled mightily in the field Monday, and in so doing, let an 8-3 lead slip away in the late innings in a 12-8 loss to Parsons.
The Indians rebounded from there by thumping Parsons, 8-3 in the finale.
“We witnessed a fielding slump like I’ve never seen before,” Iola head coach John Taylor said.
Iola committed a combined 13 errors across the two games, nine in the opener, and five in the fateful seventh inning, when Parsons erupted for seven runs.
“I haven’t seen that like I’ve seen today,” Taylor said. “This is a first for me.”
He attributed the struggles to a loss of focus, particularly after Iola swept a powerful AAA Ottawa club one day earlier.
“Mentally, we were just out of it,” he said. “We lost focus, and that’s what happens.”
Things were going smoothly early on.
After spotting Parsons a 1-0 lead after half an inning, Iola tied it with one swing: Nathan Louk’s leadoff home run.
Cooper Riley then pushed the Indians on top, 3-1, with a two-run double. A Parsons fielding error then brought Riley home for a 4-1 advantage.
Ryker Curry pushed the lead to 5-1 in the third with a run-scoring single to bring Riley home.
A pair of Parsons errors led to another Indians run in the bottom of the fourth, and Dillon Bycroft’s two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth had Iola in front, 8-3, and well on the way to victory.
But that’s when Iola’s defense sprang a leak.
An error and home run brought Parsons to within 8-5 in the top of the sixth to set up the miserable seventh, during which Parsons sent 11 men to the plate to take the lead for good.
“You’ve just got to let them battle through it,” Taylor said.
The swoon made a tough-luck loser out of Iola starting pitcher Eli Smith, who struck out five and allowed three earned runs as he pitched into the seventh inning. Aiden Jones came on in relief and struck out the final Parsons batter of the frame.
Louk paced the offense with a double and home run in four at bats. Curry and Drake DeLaTorre each singled twice, while Bycroft homered and Riley doubled. TJ Taylor, Bradyn Cole and Trenton Jones all had singles.
