BURLINGTON — Post 15 couldn’t find a way to get both its offense and its defense rolling at the same time in Burlington on Monday.
The Indians dropped both games on the road, losing 2-0 and 12-8.
Hits were hard to come by in game one. The two teams combined for only seven hits, none of which were of the extra-base variety. Unfortunately for Post 15, five of those hits came off of Burlington’s bats.
Indian pitchers Hunter Preston and Isaac Vink each pitched well in two innings of work.
Preston surrendered one run in the first inning. Vink relieved Preston in the third inning and also gave up a run in his first inning on the mound.
Vink managed one of the team’s two hits in the game. Ethan Tavarez also had a single for the visitors.
Game two was a different script. The teams amassed 27 hits.
Burlington jumped out to 3-0 after the second inning and judging by the offense in the opener, it appeared the lead would hold up.
In the fourth inning, Iola finally gained some traction. Vink led off with a single and then the Iola batters used patience to have five batters in a row reach base.
With one out, Lance Daniel drew a walk. Tavarez was subsequently hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Future Allen Community College outfielder Keanan Badders drew a walk to plate the Indians’ first run. Preston tied the game up with another bases-loaded walk.
Blake Ashmore — a recent call-up from the Indians Single-A team — came through with a single to score Tavarez and Iola had the lead.
Singles by Calvin Delich and Tucker Fosha pushed the Iola lead to 6-3.
Burlington quickly responded with a three-run fourth inning to tie the game back up and they added another one in the fifth to retake the lead.
Fosha drove in a run in the sixth inning to tie it up again, but Burlington responded once more with five runs in the sixth to open the game up and cruise to a 12-8 win.
