Iola blanks Blues in state title game

Rattling off four consecutive wins following an opening round loss, the Concordia Blues reached the championship game of the Kansas American Legion Baseball AA State Tournament before falling 10-0 to Iola Sunday morning at the Concordia Sports Complex.
Concordia lost 11-3 to Garnett in the first round of the tournament on Thursday.
Dropping into the elimination bracket of the double-elimination tournament, the Blues defeated Norton 5-3, Beloit 17-7 and Corning 12-6 to set up a rematch with Garnett.
Concordia, which finished the season 20-7, ousted Garnett 8-6 on Saturday to advance to the title game.
Iola slipped past Colby 6-5 in the first round on Thursday.
The Indians knocked off Beloit 13-3 on Friday and edged Garnett 3-1 on Saturday.
Concordia needed to post two wins over Iola to win the title.
Trey Sommers shut out the Blues on three hits as Iola (29-6) went unbeaten on its way to winning the championship.
In the other championship bracket game on Friday, Garnett clipped Seneca, 5-4.
Corning, which lost to Beloit in the first round, eliminated Seneca 7-4.
In the championship game, Iola put up three runs on Concordia in the first inning.
Tre Wilson walked to lead off the inning. He stole second and scored on a single by Rogan Weir.
Sommer followed with a three-run home run.
Iola upped the lead to 6-0 with three runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Sam Hill and Gavin Pagen knocked in runs.
Two runs in the fourth inning gave Iola an 8-0 cushion.
Tacking on two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Iola ended the game because of the 10-run rule.
Sommer limited the Blues to three hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Drew Sterrett had two hits, a single and a triple, for Concordia.
Caleb Hanson pitched the first three innings for the Blues and allowed eight runs, seven earned, on five hits. He struck out one and walked three.
Ashton Dooley allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits in one inning of work.
Joey Henderson finished up.
Sommer had two hits, drove in two runs and scored two runs for Iola.
Concordia 8, Garnett 6
Concordia used a six-run third inning to avenge the first-round loss to Garnett.
The game was tied at 1-1 through two innings.
Garnett went up 4-1 with three runs in the top of the third inning.
Stryker Hake walked and scored the Blues' first run in the bottom of the third on a single by Hanson.
Hanson got home on an error.
Matt Eubanks and Keegun Beims walked.
Braeden Primeaux doubled to drive in two runs.
Payton Breese knocked in Primeaux and scored on a base hit by Henderson to put Concordia on top to stay, 7-4.
Garnett closed the gap to 7-5 with a run in the top of the fourth inning.
Hake tripled and scored on a run in the bottom of the fourth, and the Blues led 8-5.
A run in the sixth inning left Garnett trailing 8-5.
The Mudhens had runners at first and second with two out in the top of the seventh inning when Hake snared a line drive by Tyler Stinnett to end the game.
Maddox Frey pitched six and two-third innings to get the win. Dooley recorded the final out.
Primeaux had two hits for the Blues.
Concordia 12, Corning 6
Trailing 5-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Blues sent 15 batters to the plate and erupted for 11 runs on its way to knocking off Corning.
Hanson led off the inning with a walk. Eubanks reached base on an error and Beims singled to load the bases.
Frey and Primeaux walked to force home runs.
Beims scored on a base hit by Henderson.
Sterrett walked to again load the bases and Hake hit a grand slam home run.
Hanson singled in his second at bat in the inning and Eubanks was hit by a pitch.
Beims walked and Frey again walked to get a run home.
Primeaux singled to knock in two runs and make it 12-5.
Corning scored one run in the seventh inning.
Eubanks and Beims did the pitching for the Blues.
Hake had two hits, drove in four runs and scored two.
Primeaux drove in three runs.
Beims had two hits.
Corning scored one run in the first inning and three in the third to go up 4-0.
Hake singled and scored on a fly ball by Eubanks in the fourth inning, and the Blues trailed 4-1.
Adding a run in the top of the sixth inning, Corning led 5-1.
Concordia then used the big sixth inning to get the win.
Concordia 17, Beloit 7
The Blues racked up 10 runs in the second inning in ousting Beloit from the tournament.
Hanson walked and scored a run in the top of the first inning for the Blues and Eubanks was hit by a pitch and scored.
Beloit responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Concordia then erupted for 10 runs in the second inning to go on top to stay, 12-3.
The first nine Concordia batters reached base in the inning and eight of them came around to score.
Dustin Sterrett walked, singled and scored two runs in the inning.
Drew Sterrett singled and scored twice.
Beloit picked up one run in the third inning.
Concordia scored five runs in the fourth inning, and led 17-4.
Breese and Eubanks each doubled and scored in the inning. Beims, Henderson and Drew Sterrett singled and scored.
Beloit made it a 17-7 game with three runs in the fifth inning.
The game ended after five innings.
Eubanks started on the mound for the Blues. Breese worked the final four innings to get the win. He also had two hits and scored two runs.
Drew Sterrett had three hits and scored three runs in the game.
Beims had three hits and scored two runs.
Henderson was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Dustin Sterrett had two hits.
Garnett 5, Seneca 4
In a matchup between two teams that posted wins in the first round, Garnett clipped Seneca on Friday.
The game was tied at 1-1 through three innings.
Garnett scored three runs in the fourth inning to go on top, 4-1.
Seneca made it 4-3 with two runs in the top of the fifth inning.
The Mudhens upped the lead to 5-3 with a run in the bottom of the fifth.
Scoring a run in the sixth inning, Seneca again pulled within a run, 5-4.
Seneca then left the tying run stranded at third base in the seventh inning.
Iola 13, Beloit 3
Iola knocked Beloit into the consolation bracket with a 13-3 victory in five innings on Friday.
The Indians scored two runs the first inning, one in the second, four in the third and three in the fourth.
Beloit got single runs in the second, third and fourth innings.
Iola added three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game.
Corning 7, Seneca 4
Corning stayed alive in the elimination bracket by defeating Seneca.
Three runs in the first inning and one in the second gave Corning a 4-0 lead.
Seneca scored one run in the bottom of the third inning.
Corning added two runs in the fourth inning to make it 6-1.
Seneca scored two runs in the fifth inning, and trailed 6-3.
Each team scored a run in the seventh.
Iola 3, Garnett 1
Iola moved into the championship game by handing Garnett its first loss on Saturday.
Garnett took a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Iola tied the game with a run in the second.
Two runs in the fourth inning gave Iola the 3-1 lead.
Iola's Trevor Church, after allowing one run on two hits in the first inning, did not give up a run or a hit over the final six.