The Iola Mustangs trampled their Pioneer League rival Prairie View, 12-8 and 17-8, Tuesday afternoon.
The scores were much closer than the actual contests. The Mustangs quickly took control of both games as the Buffalos fought through the remaining innings to avoid the 10-run margin necessary for a mercy-rule victory.
“In my nine years, that’s the first time we’ve ever swept Prairie View,” Iola coach Chris Weide said. “With them being a good league team, I’ll take those two wins.”
Sophomore pitcher Zoie Hesse and sophomore outfielder Brooklyn Holloway set the tone for the evening. Hesse put the Mustangs on the scoreboard with an RBI double, then Holloway’s hard chopper plated Hesse to give Iola a 2-1 advantage.
Senior third baseman Harper Desmarteau’s pop fly forced an error resulting in another run. Hesse drove in Desmarteau with a homer hitting the tree-line 15 yards beyond the center-field fence.
Following the home run, Prairie View’s coaches chose to intentionally walk her in many subsequent at-bats. In the third inning, Prairie View coaches gave up a run with the bases loaded rather than face Hesse again.
“It shows how much respect the coaches have for Zoie,” Weide said.
“That’s the reason we have her hitting three and Reese Curry coming up four. If they choose to do that, we know Reese can do the job, too.”
Hesse had a team-leading five RBIs. On the mound, Hesse had three strikeouts over seven innings while giving up only a pair of earned runs. Although known for her strong arm, Hesse said she does not concentrate on strikeouts. Instead, she focuses on ball placement and letting her infielders do the heavy lifting.
“I just let them hit and let my fielders field,” Hesse said.
In the fourth, RBIs by senior outfielder Kyndal Bycroft, senior first baseman Kasin Cruisinbery and Desmarteau extended Iola’s lead to 9-2. The Mustangs then added another pair of runs on RBIs from Hesse and senior catcher Curry.
Curry added an insurance run in the sixth inning, and that’s all the offense Iola needed as the Mustangs spent the remaining innings staving off a Prairie View rally.
“We did really well. We hit the ball when we needed to hit the ball and that’s all that matters,” Curry said.
Although not posting an RBI, senior shortstop Elza Clift had a strong day in the batter’s box after hitting in all five at-bats in the opener. Bycroft and Curry each hit in 3 of 5 opportunities.
The finale was just like the opener, but more so. The Mustangs jumped out to a 10-1 lead before the third inning.
Curry got the Mustangs started in the finale with an RBI single.
