OSAWATOMIE — The Pioneer League has a familiar champion after the Iola Mustangs secured their third straight league title while sweeping the Osawatomie Trojans 10-0 and 11-7.
After years of sharing the title, the Mustangs are outright champions with weeks to go in the regular season and now play to improve their seeding in the upcoming Class 3A regional tournament in May.
“Game one got us a share and game two made it to where no one could mathematically catch us,” Iola coach Levi Ashmore said. “The last two years, we just got a piece of it and said it was a tie, but this year we can say that it’s ours outright.”
Freshman second baseman Reed Clift throws a runner out at first base during the opener of Tuesday’s doubeleheader.
In the opener senior pitcher Grady Dougherty picked up the win with five strikeouts over four innings, allowing one hit before giving way to freshman reliever Kale Pratt, who threw three strikeouts over three innings.
Junior catcher Tre Wilson put Iola on the scoreboard with a two-run homer in the first frame. A second inning sacrifice fly by sophomore third baseman Austin Crooks, followed by Pratt scoring on a wild pitch, took Iola’s advantage to 4-0.
Pratt added to the lead in the third inning with an RBI single, followed by a Dougherty RBI single, then a trio of bases loaded walks before a Wilson grounder made the score 10-0. Wilson wrapped up the opener with the team Herrmann was perfect in 2 of 2 appearances with two walks and two RBIs.
“We’re hitting the ball well. We’re playing defense and pitching,” Herrmann said. “We really brought the energy. When we first started warming up, we all felt good. We felt like we were going to win.”
The Mustangs needed just one more win to secure the Pioneer league title, but the Trojans were not going to make it easy.
It seemed business as usual as Iola jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Senior starter Gavin Jones picked up the win after accruing three scoreless innings with two strikeouts while allowing one hit. After Ashmore went to his bullpen following the third inning with Iola well ahead, the Trojans went on the attack.
Osawatomie rallied back with a six run fourth inning and added a run in the sixth to put a bit of a scare in Iola.
Dougherty lit up the scoreboard in the first frame with an RBI double, followed by an RBI grounder by a junior Easton Weseloh to give the Mustangs a 3-0 advantage. A second-inning Dougherty RBI grounder, followed by a Weseloh RBI single, then another Weseloh RBI single in the fourth extended Iola’s lead to 7-0.
“I feel great about (winning the lead title). We just have to play good baseball and keep it going,” said Weseloh, who ended the finale with a team-leading four RBIs. “We just had to go up with a good mindset. If you have a good mindset it’s a lot easier to hit.”
Iola responded to the Trojans’ six-run fourth inning with a pair of runs as Crooks beat the throw to the plate on a Herrmann chopper, then Herrmann scored on a fielding error . The Mustangs left the game in the hands of the defense from there as Crooks and junior reliever Nick Bauer allowed just two hits over four innings while combining for seven strikeouts. Handling closing duties, Bauer opened the seventh inning with a strikeout, walked the next batter, then another strikeout before securing the Pioneer League title with a pop-out.
While winning a league title may bring a sense of relief, the title comes with the burden of making the Mustangs a target for opposing teams. The Mustangs may have a business as usual approach to each game, but opponents may see an Iola victory as a make or break moment for determining if they had a successful season.
Senior Gavin Jones goes into his windup in the finale.
“You see someone who is doing really well, you want to go and knock them off,” Ashmore said. “It’s hard for us. We have a target on our backs and everybody wants us. We have to find a way to make every day important.”
As for the Mustang players, they’re ready for the challenge of facing every opponent’s best effort from here on out.
