PARSONS — Tuesday featured a little bit of everything for Iola’s AA American Legion squad, good and bad, in a doubleheader split with Parsons.
The Indians saw plenty of clutch hitting, some solid pitching, offset by a few hiccups along the way as Parsons came back from an 8-3 deficit to win, 9-8. Undaunted, Iola pulled out a 6-3 win in the nightcap.
The split gives the Indians an 11-9 record as they prepare for the final action of the regular season. Iola hosts Overbrook at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Humboldt Sports Complex before taking on El Dorado in two games, also at Humboldt, on Monday evening.
Iola led 8-3 before Parsons plated four in the bottom of the fourth to make it 8-7. Parsons then took advantage of Iola fielding errors on back-to-back plays in the fifth frame to take the lead.
The Indians had a shot to tie it in the top of the sixth when Kaiden Barnett and Evan Lucke hit back-to-back one-out singles, but Nathan Louk’s line drive turned into an inning-ending double play when the Parsons shortstop snared the catch and touched second before Barnett could retreat.
Things were much more promising for Iola in the early going.
Louk led off the game with a single, moved to second when Gavin Page was hit by a pitch and scored on Cooper Riley’s RBI single. Trey Sommer blasted the next pitch over the left field fence for a 3-0 lead.
Parsons responded quickly, scoring twice in the bottom of the first and tying the score at 3-3 in the second on a dropped third strike in the bottom of the second.
Louk’s leadoff walk in the third turned into a 5-3 lead when Page and Carter Hutton smacked back-to-back doubles.
The fun continued in the top of the fourth. Eli Smith and Barnett singled to lead off the frame, Lucke loaded the bases with a walk, and Louk drove in two with a double. Lucke scored on Page’s fly ball for an 8-3 advantage.
But the fun ended there.
Louk paced the offense with a single and double in three at-bats. Sommer had a home run, Barnett and TJ Taylor both singled twice, and Hutton and Page both had doubles. Riley, Smith and Lucke all singled.
Louk started on the mound, and scattered 10 hits over five innings, while striking out three. Taylor came on in relief and pitched a 1-2-3 sixth frame.
SMITH TOOK matters into his own hand in the nightcap, ensuring Parsons would not come back from Iola’s early lead a second time.
Iola opened the game with five straight singles, leading 2-0 when Drake DeLaTorre was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Hutton’s base hit.
Riley followed two batters later with a two-run single.
The lead doubled in the top of the third. Riley walked with one out and moved to second on Sommer’s single. A wild pitch moved him to third, where Riley scored on Taylor’s sac fly. Smith followed with a single to make it 4-0.
