With their backs against the wall, they won when needed to get into playoff competition.
Now the 10-14 Indianola Academy Colonels’ baseball team is attempting to continue to win during postseason play.
That North 4A State Championship competition began Tuesday for the Colonels with a trip to Winona Christian School.
Once there, the Colonels’ momentum remained intact as they earned a 4-1 victory over the Stars.
Thursday's doubleheader was postponed due to rain, but the two teams are set to meet today at a neutral site at Pillow Academy at 1 p.m. The second game, if necessary, will be played after the first one.
The winner would face Washington School of Greenville next week.
Dates, locations and times of that best-of-three series are to be announced.
In Tuesday’s win over Winona Christian School, the Colonels rode the pitching of Liam Ledbetter to claim the win.
The senior righthander’s seven innings of work scattered eight hits by the Stars while walking two and striking out four.
While the Stars narrowly avoided a shutout with a seventh inning run, the Colonels plated a run every other inning of the game to accumulate their run total.
IA’s seven-hit attack was led by Walker Perkins’ two doubles and a single, which also generated a pair of RBIs.
Ty Killebrew also collected three hits, all singles, while Weston Farmer added a double.
The Colonels earned the right to playoff competition last Saturday with a clutch doubleheader sweep of Lee Academy in Clarksdale.
Handing the Colts 9-8 and 16-9 losses, the Colonels made their way into this week’s postseason play.
In the Colonels’ playoff-clinching defeat of Lee Academy, the highlight of the day’s play was the 9-8 victory over the Colts.
With the game knotted at eight runs, a seventh-inning Killebrew infield single to short plated Blayne Fleming with the go-ahead run.
The Colonels had rallied from an 8-4 deficit in the top of the sixth frame to tie the game – an eruption which was aided heavily by Tyler Jackson’s base-loaded double, which cleared the bases.
Pitcher Ledbetter then closed the door on any attempt by the Colts to stage a comeback.
Ledbetter’s three innings of relief work garnered him the win as he allowed only one hit while walking one and striking out one batter.
At the plate, the Colonels accumulated 13 hits led by Jackson’s banner day – a performance which included three doubles and a single while driving four runs across the plate.
Also drilling three singles was Killebrew while Abel Williams contributed a pair of singles.
Ledbetter and Farmer also added a double apiece to the IA offense during this game.
In the Colonels’ 16-9 victory over the Colts, the IA squad would claim the game after scoring 13 runs over the course of the final three innings of play.
Striking for a dozen hits, the Colonels’ efforts were led by Perkins.
The senior shortstop drove in five runs in the game while just missing hitting for the cycle.
Perkins would crush a triple, a double and a single against the Colts’ pitching staff this day.
Also ripping a double and a single apiece for IA was Gage Berry and Patrick Davis.
Rounding out IA’s hitting leaders was Killebrew, who pounded out a pair of singles.
On the mound, Farmer picked up the win as his six innings of work yielded six hits while accumulating eight strikeouts and four walks.
