HUMBOLDT — By the time the Post 15 Indians finished up their sweep over Yates Center on Monday night in Humboldt, Iola first baseman Ethan Sigg was manning the third-base coach’s box and Indians’ super-fan Steve Uitts was coaching at first base.
It is safe to say that isn’t the norm for the Indians, but with how the Indians were playing, they were able to have some fun with different lineups and even different coaches throughout game two.
“We wanted to give them a chance to have some fun in the second game and keep everybody loose and healthy for this weekend,” Iola coach Rick Vink said.
Over nine innings played in the doubleheader, the Indian pitching staff did not allow a hit or a walk.
“We wanted to get some work in,” Vink said. “We have the Showcase Tournament this weekend where we will play some really good teams from Missouri, Arkansas and Nebraska so we wanted to get our pitchers some work that would’ve pitched on Sunday.
“(Yates Center) is going to be in our Zone Tournament, so we wanted to see what they had. We will go to their house in July.”
Daylon Splane pitched the first game and led the Indians to a 12-0 win in four innings.
Splane finished with 58 pitches and struck out seven in his perfect game.
The Humboldt graduate also was the top hitter for Iola by going 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and a walk.
Derek Bycroft was 1-for-2 and led the team with three runs driven in.
The most interesting stat-line came from first baseman Lance Daniels who was 0-for-0, but had three walks with two runs scored as his patience is at an all-time high while he is riding a hot-streak at the plate.
“It took us a little while to get going in the first game, but we hit the ball really well and it was nice to see us bounce back after playing pretty bad against Ottawa,” Vink said.
GAME TWO
After Splane’s tremendous performance, Ben Cooper picked right up where he left off in the second game.
Cooper threw three perfect innings with two strikeouts on 28 pitches.
Iola had three runs in the first inning and five runs in the second inning to grab the lead early.
That allowed the Indians to play with the lineup some and center fielder Isaac Vink played shortstop while left fielder Kane Rogers played second base and reserve outfielder Nate Berry manned first base. Catcher Casen Barker played center field and first baseman Lance Daniels was in left field.
Bycroft pitched the final two innings and after hitting his first batter with a pitch, finished the game’s final outs by recording a double-play and striking out three batters. The Indians cruised to a 8-0 victory.
The outing was Bycroft’s second of the American Legion season — after throwing one inning on Friday against Neosho County. He has still not given up a walk or hit for the Indians.
Vink is bringing Bycroft along slowly after he had a heavy workload during his sophomore season with the Mustangs. Bycroft battled an arm injury late in the high school season.
“We want to keep our guys as sharp as we can,” Vink said. “We need to keep everyone fresh.”
UP NEXT
The Indians will go to a tournament in Kansas City this weekend.
“It will be a good test to see where we are,” Vink said. “It gives the boys a chance to play in front of about 20 college coaches that will be there so that will be good them.”
