SABETHA – Iola took advantage of an early miscue and a solid pitching performance as they eliminated the Hays Monarchs in the semifinals of the AA American Legion State Tournament Saturday.

After the two teams had played scoreless through two Iola got a leadoff single in the top of the third inning. Following a sacrifice bunt the runner stole third and came in to score when the pickoff throw to third by catcher Creighton Renz sailed into the outfield for an error. That put Iola up 1-0.

They added a second run on an RBI single to do up 2-0.

After the Monarchs threatened but failed to score in the bottom of the inning Iola added three more in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead.

The Hays offense woke up a bit in the bottom of the sixth scoring three times with Renz, Adam Gottschalk and Cole Zimmerman all driving in runs with RBI singles to cut the deficit to 5-3.

But Iola answered right back with three of the own in the top of the seventh on their way to the 8-3 win.

Ryan Post post-game interview

Zimmerman suffered the loss for the Monarchs, he allowed five runs, four earned on five hits in three innings. He struck out one and walked two.

Zimmerman was 2 for 3 at the plate and drove in a run. He finished with seven RBI’s at the state tournament. Gottschalk was also 2 for 3 with an RBI in the game.

The Monarchs finish the summer 17-6-1.