After years of waiting, Indianola has finally claimed its first-ever Iowa high school baseball state title with a 9-6 win over Pleasant Valley on Friday, July 24.
The program's fifth-ever trip to the Iowa high school baseball state tournament culminated in a historic moment for the Indianola community. "This means everything," said Indianola senior Zach Benge. "A lot of people sleep on the Indy boys, but we are here to play. We are here to compete."
The 2026 Indianola baseball team has cemented its place as the best team in school history, surpassing the historic 1969 team. However, this achievement was not solely due to the team's talent. Indianola coach Nathan Carlin attributes the success to a conversation he had with former MLB star and Indianola native Casey Blake three years ago.
Carlin was the head coach at Bondurant-Ferrer at the time and says that Blake encouraged him to become the next head coach of Indianola. "I had a conversation with (Casey) about three years ago," Carlin said. "I was the head coach at Bondurant-Ferrer at the time and (Casey) just said, 'I want you to be our next head coach,' and we just kind of bought into each other."
The team's hunger to improve after last season's substate final loss to Iowa City West drove them to work even harder. "We took our lumps three years ago with a young team; last year we put it together," Carlin said. "We had a really nice team, but we learned there was another level that to be a champion."
Indianola's preparation for the state title game was business as usual, with a pregame shootaround at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The team rushed out to a 5-0 lead after the first two innings, but Pleasant Valley began to make noise. Dawson Bales blasted a solo home run in the top of the third, and it ignited the Spartans.
Indianola answered right back with Brody Merema doubling to bring in two runs in the bottom of the third. However, Pleasant Valley continued to put pressure on Indianola pitcher Jackson Foust, ending his outing after 5 ⅔ innings and 79 pitches.
The Spartans put pressure on Indianola in the top of the sixth, with Gavin Barber singling to bring in a run, and Bales coming through again with a bases-clearing, three-RBI double. Indianola used three pitchers in the sixth to get out of the jam, and added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with Benge sending out a home run to the left field patio seats.
"That final run was all Indianola needed to secure its first state title," an article from the Des Moines Register said. The team is thrilled to finally bring a state title back to the nearly 17,000 people who reside just south of Des Moines.
Indianola is a tight-knit community that has each other's backs and is so supportive of its athletes. "Indianola is a type of town where you get sucked in, and you don't want to leave because it's such a tight-knit community that has each other's backs and is so supportive of you, and a baseball town," Carlin said.
This historic win marks the beginning of a new era for the Indianola baseball team, and the community is eager to celebrate their achievement.
Source: Yahoo Sports