With less than a month left in the regular season, only Anderson County seems to stand in the way of the Iola Mustangs, who remain undefeated after sweeping Pioneer League rival Sante Fe Trail Friday.
After opening the evening with a 9-0 shutout, the Mustangs wobbled a bit in the second game against the Santa Fe Chargers. Iola led 6-1 before Santa Fe Trail erupted for a five-run fourth inning.
But the Mustangs responded with a wallop, 10 unanswered runs the rest of the way in a 16-6 win. The sweep puts Iola at 8-0 and perfect in the Pioneer League at 6-0.
“Santa Fe Trail is a good team. They’ve been in our way of what we’ve wanted to do the last couple of years,” Iola coach Levi Ashmore said. “We were ready to roll. The guys played well. We scored well all night, and that helped a lot of things out.”
Senior Grady Dougherty shined on the mound and in the batter’s box with a team-leading three RBIs while also pitching a five-inning shutout with eight strikeouts before handing the reins to junior Easton Weseloh to close it out.
“I didn’t even know I was going to step on the mound. I was struggling with elbow issues throughout the week,” Dougherty said. “It was just a concern. I threw in the bullpen before the game. I was feeling good and loose. I feel like I have an extra fire against teams in our league. I was just seeing the ball well, seeing it come off the pitcher’s hand.”
Dougherty set the tone in the first inning with a two-run homerun. Junior shortstop Nick Bauer took the lead to 3-0 after reaching home on a fielder error. Another Dougherty homer, followed by a sacrifice fly by senior outfielder Lucas Maier put Iola up 5-0 by the third inning. The Mustangs continued pouring on the runs with RBIs from junior catcher Tre Wilson, Bauer and a two-RBI single from freshman outfielder Kale Pratt before Weseloh mercifully brought the game to an end with a seventh-inning strikeout,
“My arm has been feeling great. I just came out and performed well,” Weseloh said. “I wasn’t sure how my arm would feel (returning in game two). I went out there and the first pitch felt great. I knew I was going to have a great inning.”
In the finale, RBIs from Wilson, Bauer, Maier and sophomore third baseman Austin Crooks put Iola up 5-0 by the end of the first inning, but the Chargers made a game of it with a five-run fourth.
Starter Gavin Jones tallied four strikeouts in the first three frames before handing off duties to sophomore Jace Herrmann. Then, Weseloh once again took the reins as the closer, tying Jones for the team lead in strikeouts.
After the Chargers rallied to make Game 2 a close one, the Mustangs hit high gear with a pair of Wilson home runs, sacrifice flies by Bauer and Weseloh, an RBI grounder by freshman second baseman Reed Clift and RBI singles by pinch hitter Shaun McLaughlin and Herrmann. Wilson ended the day with a team-leading four RBIs, including two homers, followed by Weseloh with three, then Bauer, McLaughlin and Herrmann, who had two each.
“We had some guys have some big performances. [Senior pitcher Grady Dougherty] has been great all year at the plate,” Iola coach Levi Ashmore said. “Everybody is feeding off of it. He’s been a great leader and is doing awesome at the plate.”
The Mustangs get back to work Tuesday, when they host another Pioneer League rival in Anderson County, then head on the road for a Friday doubleheader against Paola before returning to Pioneer League play next Tuesday on the road at Osawatomie. First pitches for each doubleheader are 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.
