HUMBOLDT — A long weekend off from practice doomed Iola’s AA American Legion Post 15 baseball team, which split a doubleheader with Burlington Monday night. Another sweep slipped away in the last inning of the night. However, the games were not an indication of how the well-oiled machine had been playing all year.
“We lost focus. We weren’t very crisp all day today,” coach Roland Weir said. “We had some attitudes that kind of spilled over. We gave the kids the Fourth of July weekend off and some time away to be kids and be 18 and relax in July a little bit.”
Iola lost its second game of the season 5-4 in the last inning of game two. The offense started off strong with Grayson Pearish hitting an RBI-single to knock in Drew Faulhaber, who reached base on a walk.
Derrick Weir got the start on the mound. He walked the first two batters he faced in the game, then got a double play and fly out to end the threat. In the second inning, the Indians scored another run.
Alex Murrow drew a walk, then took second base on a wild pitch. Aaron Barclay hit a sharp ground ball to the first baseman for an out, but Murrow advanced to third. On the first pitch of the following bat to Kason Siemens, the catcher stopped a ball from getting behind him. On the very next pitch, the catcher wasn’t able to make the scoop and Murrow came in to score.
Weir pitched a solid second inning. After a ground out, he walked a batter. He then was able to get a fly out and his first strikeout to end the inning. In the third inning, Weir helped his own cause with an RBI-single. Jacob Carpenter added another run in the inning. He hit a ball to the third baseman that ricocheted off his glove. With a 4-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings, the Indians were well on their way to approaching another doubleheader sweep.
In the bottom of the third, Weir gave up his first run of the game. After a leadoff single, he got a ground out to third base. Another walk followed, but he got the second out on another ground out. With two outs, he then walked another batter. With the bases loaded, he walked in a run. Overall, Weir walked six batters over 2 2/3 innings. Trent Latta came in to pitch and got the strikeout to end the inning.
Nothing happened for either team in the fourth inning. Latta got two more strikeouts in a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning. In the fifth, Iola missed an opportunity to extend the lead. Caleb Vanatta hit a leadoff single, then Latta drew a walk. Pearish laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving both runners into scoring position. Carpenter was then hit by the pitch, putting the bases loaded. Alex Murrow came up to bat, hitting into a double play. Iola held a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the inning.
Siemens came into pitch for Latta. He started by giving up a leadoff walk, which led to a RBI-single. Getting his bearings in check, Siemens retired the next two batters. A win was just an out away with one runner on base. Then, Siemens walked and hit the next two batters, loading the bases. Hunter Murrow came into pitch. The first batter he faced drew a walk, scoring a run. The Indians now had a 4-3 lead. With a 3-2 count, the batter pulled a ball to the short stop, who had to hurry a throw to first. It was wild and Burlington scored two runs to win the game.
“We just weren’t very crisp hitting, fielding or pitching,” coach Weir said. “We lost focus today, and that happens.”
THE INDIANS did win the first game 6-3, but that took a comeback in order to get the win.w
“C.J. (D’Armond) came out a little rough and didn’t throw strikes off the bat but he settled down and threw good second and third innings,” Weir said. “In the fifth inning he came out OK, he got into a little jam and I brought in Grayson (Pearish) to pitch. He pitched a good 2 1/3 innings.”
In the first inning, Iola had a 1-0 lead after Hunter Murrow scored from third. Latta tried to steal second and was called out, but during the throw, Murrow came into score. The Indians wouldn’t leave the inning with the lead. D’Armond had his roughest inning of the game. With the bases loaded, he walked in two straight runs. Another run scored on a wild pitch, before a ground out would end the inning.
Iola got one run back in the second inning. Barclay knocked in a run on a hit to the pitcher, as he was out running to first base. D’Armond came back strong with a 1-2-3 second inning that featured two strikeouts. Neither team did anything in the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Burlington had a threat to score. After a walk, a sacrifice bunt moved the runner over to second base. A single followed, putting runners at first and third. D’Armond got the strikeout, and Pearish came in to finish the inning and game. He got the strikeout.
