PAOLA — It took the 4A Paola Panthers, ranked fifth in the state, to end Iola’s undefeated run in a 7-1, 1-0 sweep Friday.
After a ninth-inning, walk-off RBI by Panther junior shortstop Jonathan Troutman, Paola emptied its benches as if it had advanced in the postseason instead of handing the 3A Iola Mustangs their second loss of the regular season in a non-league game.
“I don’t want to lose to anybody, but they are a good team,” Iola coach Levi Ashmore said. “Probably, at least on paper, they are a better team than we are. We had our opportunities all night. The first game wasn’t good. They knocked us down and we never got back up.”
Senior pitcher Gavin Jones took the loss in the opener with two strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings while allowing two walks and five earned runs. Freshman Kale Pratt spelled him in the fourth inning, but without much run support Jones took the loss. Sophomore Jace Herrmann plated the only runner that day with an RBI single in the third inning, but the Panthers responded by adding three runs to their 2-1 lead during their next at-bat to take control.
“Overall, if you score one run in 16 innings, it’s never going to be good,” Ashmore said. “They had good pitchers. They were never going to walk us or let us hit into anything. I wanted them to compete more at the plate.”
Herrmann pitched a seven-inning shutout in the finale. With only three strikeouts, Herrmann relied heavily on his bend-but-don’t-break defense. Iola kept Paola off of the scoreboard despite the Panthers racking up four hits and drawing five walks. Once the game went into extra innings, Ashmore opted for junior closer Tre Wilson. Wilson quickly tallied two strikeouts, but after walking the bases loaded Troutman’s routine single turned into a game-winning stroke.
“Winning 10 games in a row is a lot more fun than [Friday],” Ashmore said. “Now they’ve had a taste of what winning and losing both feel like. We don’t want to feel like this after a game, so we need to attack every day with energy and effort and for them to stick together as teammates. We’re always going to have a chance if the energy and effort are good.”
Following Friday’s doubleheader the Mustangs stand at 10-2, but are undefeated in the Pioneer League at 8-0. They look to keep their unbeaten league record intact when they head on the road Tuesday to face Osawatomie.
First pitches for both games are 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.
