The Indianola baseball team advanced to the Class 4A substate 7 semifinals Friday evening, with a 5-1 win over Ottumwa. Brady Blake and Kaden Ritchie combined to throw a one-hitter against the Bulldogs, who scored their lone run in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Indians then followed up with five unanswered runs, with RBI hits from Kasey Carter and Blake in the second inning to take their first lead 2-1, then scored a run on a wild pitch, a solo home run by Blake, and an RBI sacrifice fly from Jack Strong in the next three innings.
Head coach Jon Fitzpatrick tells KNIA Sports he could tell his squad was ready to play.
“I thought they did a really good job of being locked in in the dugout. And getting 5-6-7 at-bats even though they were in the dugout, taking those mental at-bats and really being locked into the game. The second time through they made their own adjustments and we had some good conversations, and then they were able to execute.”

The Indians now advance to the substate semifinal round, on the road at Ankeny on Monday.

The Indianola softball team begins their postseason journey tonight, hosting the Comets of North Polk in the regional semifinal round. The game can be heard live on 94.3 KNIA, with Andrew Swadner on the play-by-play. Pregame coverage begins at 6:45, with first pitch scheduled for 7pm.