MARYSVILLE — Rain dampened the American Legion Post 15 Junior Indians weekend, but they did technically walk away from the Marysville Junior Legion Tournament undefeated.
After edging host team Marysville Post 163 2-1 in their pool play opener, the Indians tied the Hiawatha Post 66 Braves 5-5 after rain swept in and seemed to cancel the remaining games on the schedule.
Iola starter Braylon Keithly and Iola closer Caden Curry picked up the win and the save in the opener against Marysville.
Keithly allowed just one run on two hits with three walks. He tallied six strikeouts over six innings before his pitch-count forced him to turn the mound over to Curry, who struck out two of three batters in his single inning on the wood.
Marysville jumped out to an early lead after capitalizing on an Indians’ error in the second inning. Scoreless through the first and second innings, a third inning bunt by Iola outfielder Max Ebberts forced an infield error, putting Iola on the scoreboard. One popout in foul territory later and a sacrifice fly by Iola outfielder Jaxen Mueller was the final lead-change of the afternoon as Iola held on for the win.
Mueller registered the only RBI of the game for the Indians. He also tied Curry and Keithly for the team lead in hits with one each.
Looking to squeeze one more game in before the storms, Iola played Hiawatha to a 5-5 tie after an RBI single by Colony closer Andrew Donovan tied the game in the seventh inning. The game-tying RBI seemed to redeem Donovan, who got the start but gave up three earned runs in the opening frame.
Moran reliever Lane Lord came on in the second inning, posting seven strikeouts over six innings. Thanks to timely grounders and pop flies, Lord held Hiawatha to just two runs, one earned run, while tallying seven strikeouts.
Following Hiawatha’s three-run barrage in the opening frame, Iola responded with Colony second baseman Will Disbrow reaching home on a wild pitch. The Indians cut Hiawatha’s lead to two runs in the third inning after a Mueller grounder forced an error, allowing Keithly to score from third base. Moments later Mueller closed the gap to a single run after scoring on another wild pitch.
Trailing by two runs in the seventh, Ebberts closed the gap again to one after reaching home on a wild pitch, then Donovan tied the game with his RBI single.
Donovan and Mueller tied for the team lead in RBIs with one each.
The Indians return to Iola with a record of 4-3-1. They head on the road Wednesday for a doubleheader against the Pittsburg Silverbacks. First pitch is 6 p.m. for the opener and 8 p.m. for the nightcap.
