Success breeds success.
That’s what the Iola High baseball team is hoping they can do in their first year under new head coach Levi Ashmore. The Mustangs return a strong nucleus of players which led them to a state tournament appearance last year where they fell to Ottawa, 5-3.
Ashmore also has experience in the Class 4A Kansas state baseball tournament when he played as a senior for the Mustangs in 2013. Iola fell to Topeka-Hayden.
“I’ve been really pleased. Guys are working hard and guys are listening,” Ashmore said of practices. “I think they’re liking it a lot. We’re talking about implementing change, moving forward and trying to put it into game form. They’ve done that well. I believe in our guys and I believe that if we play hard, everything will be fine.”
In his first run as a head coach, Ashmore is focused on keeping a winning culture in place.
“It’s been fun to see the traditions that have stayed over the last 10 years,” said Ashmore. “It’s also been fun to see how things change in a good way. I used to play down here at the same facility 10 years ago and now I’m coaching here.”
A trio of seniors in Jarrett Herrmann, who signed his national letter of intent to play college baseball at Cowley Community College in the offseason, as well as Brandon McKarnin and Carter Hutton will lead this year’s Mustangs.
Herrmann is expected to be one of Iola’s top hitters this year, usually sliding into the three spot in the lineup. Last year Herrmann had a .704 batting average and had a team-high 19 hits. Landon Weide will be joining Herrmann atop the lineup in the leadoff spot this season.
Freshman Tre Wilson will hit second and senior Brandon McKarnin will bat cleanup.
The competition on the mound this spring will involve a number of similar pitchers from the past few years, including McKarnin who will start Tuesday against Independence. Mac Leonard is expected to follow McKarnin in relief for the opening day assignment.
“Jarrett (Herrmann) has all of the stuff. We’re going to try and not use him as much as we can, we want him in the field and hitting,” Ashmore said. “We’re looking at Korbin (Cloud) as our number one starter, (Brandon) McKarnin will start Tuesday and then Mac (Leonard) will be in relief.”
Ashmore said the other few pitching spots will fall to Ashton Hesse, Grady Dougherty and Landon Weide.
Overall, this year’s Iola squad will have around 11 players competing for nine spots on the diamond. First base and a corner outfield spot are still up for grabs heading into the season opener.
“It’s going to be about who brings it offensively and who swings the bat well,” said Ashmore. “Who’s practicing hard, who’s being a good teammate, who’s putting in the extra effort and who’s doing the little things.”
Iola hosts Independence on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
