THE START OF SOMETHING: Iola finishes as runner-up in state tournament

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Sports

July 31, 2017 - 12:00 AM

MARYSVILLE — It was hard to find any truly disappointed faces on the Indians bench on Sunday afternoon.
True, Iola had just fallen in the ‘AA’ American Legion State Championship game 8-4 versus Hays in Marysville at Feldhausen Field. But it was the road the Indians had taken to get there that kept their heads up.
“Two weeks ago we were a 10-13 team,” head coach Rick Vink said. “If you get second in state two weeks later it just goes to show the kids never gave up on each other and never gave up on what they wanted to accomplish. I’m super proud of them.”
After being the third seed in the Zone tournament, the Indians battled their way toward state, earning a bid  for the third year in a row. They faced a tough slate of teams, as they were disadvantaged by their age as the youngest team at tournament.
Then the hard part came after rattling off two wins, a loss in the semifinals set up the task of winning three games in 24 hours.
Iola won two of those games easily and made the decision to not wait around for another day, but instead to bear down and end it on Sunday, thus playing their fourth game in 24 hours.
“We made the decision as team early in the day,” Vink said. “For us, pitching, it didn’t matter either way. So as a team we just said let’s finish this thing today… I don’t know if it played a part or not in us not hitting the ball well in that last game. We had 18 hits in the first championship game and only six in the second. We were a little tired but I also think that Hays threw a kid that may not have been any better as the first kid but found a way to get us off balance.”
It did not come nearly as easily.
Five Hays runners crossed the plate in the second inning as for the third time this tournament the Indians had to work their way out of a hole.
The Indians started chipping away.
Starter Isaac Vink found his footing after that second innings, only allowing three more runners.
Vink carried a large load throughout the tournament, going deep into the game throwing more than he normally does out of necessity as one of the last options at the mound for the Indians.
“He gave us all he had,” Vink said.. “I don’t remember the last time Isaac threw more than 80 pitches in a game and he went out there and threw 116. He kept us in the game. They got five runs in one inning and that turned out to be the difference but after that he shut them down.”
Two more Hays runs crossed the plate in the bottom of sixth widening the gap too far for Iola, which went 1-2-3 in the seventh, ending the game.”
“The kids were disappointed but at the same time, they knew what they had accomplished,”  Vink said. “Now, moving forward, just getting the state tournament whether it’s next summer or during the high school season won’t be enough for these boys. They know now that they can compete with anybody and they know how to win.”
Bench utility player Casen Barker walked away with the sportsmanship award after having a very good tournament playing the final four games behind the plate while recording four hits and two RBIs throughout the weekend.
“He’s just a good kid who’s excited to play,” Vink said. “He’s great at what he does. There were a couple games where we sat him and he insisted that he wanted to keep the book because he wanted to do something. He was doing everything he could to show us he wanted to play. He ended up having a great tournament.”
Barker had struggled at times at-bat throughout the season but made his presence known in Marysville, especially in the Doniphan County game as he laid down a key bunt in the eighth inning to secure the victory for Iola.
“I’m always excited to get a chance to come in,” Barker said. “I make sure I make the most of it.”
There is a lot to like about the future of this Indians team. Out of the starters from the state tournament, they only lose Ben Cooper. The rest are all eligible to return next year.
“When you have 11 players coming back to a team that got second at state you feel pretty good about that,” Vink said. “The future is very bright for Iola and American Legion baseball. I’m glad that I got to be a part of it the last two years.”
As the players and their parents walked to their cars after a long Sunday it wasn’t known who, including Vink as head coach, would be back next season or how far of a run they’d make next year.
All you could tell was this wasn’t the end. Those players would make sure of that.
Iola 7, Doniphan County 6
After the the third inning things seemed hopeless. The Indians had given up four runs and had only gotten one back in return.
But, after the Doniphan County took a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth, Vink took his team aside.
“My message to the boys was, anything that you really want, whether it’s in baseball or life, anything that’s worth it isn’t going to come easy,” Vink said. “And today it’s not coming easy but I promise if we stick together and keep doing what we do we’ll be fine. Then we put four runs on the board and tied the game up.”
Doniphan County added on a go-ahead run in the top of the eighth but it was Splane who would have the last word as he drove home Calvin Delich to end the game.
Hays 7, Iola 4
Indians found themselves in a fairly similar hold the next evening as they trailed 4-1 after three innings.
They wouldn’t be able to close it out though as they got within a run in the top of the fifth but two more runs in the next inning proved too much to overcome as they slipped into the loser’s bracket.
Iola 8, Russell 3
The Indians hit the field with a renewed sense of purpose on Sunday morning. It was win or go home time and they responded as such, giving themselves a 4-1 lead after two innings.
Both teams laid quiet for a while but Iola drove in four insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to stretch their lead to seven.
Russell attempted a comeback getting two across in the top of the seventh but it was nothing doing as the Indians pulled it together to get their third state tournament win.
Iola 14, Hays 10
If the Indians thought they got a great start in  the game right before versus Russell, they were on a different level to start the first championship game versus Hays.
Eight unanswered runs crossed the plate in the first three innings, giving Iola just enough cushion to survive getting outscored 10-6 in the final four innings.
Iola gave up four errors but also recorded 18 hits with Derek Bycroft and Splane leading the way, recording four hits a piece.

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