A pair of dazzling pitching performances put Iola High’s baseball team back on track Tuesday.
Buoyed by a combined no-hitter from Grady Dougherty and Landon Weide in a 4-0 win in Game 1, Iola’s fun continued against visiting Prairie View in the nightcap, as Korbin Cloud and Gavin Jones teamed up on a combined five-hit shutout in a 10-0 romp.
“Pitching is something our program has depended on,” Mustang head coach Levi Ashmore said. “To see it continue is great. It seems like no matter who we put out there does a good job. After throwing a great game Friday, Grady certainly set the tone.
“We needed someone who could give us energy and throw strikes, and he did that.”
And with a brisk north wind blowing in from center field, the team’s focus was on “small ball,” moving runners, stealing bases, bunting if necessary, and focusing on hitting low line drives.
But even after a double play erased a bases-loaded rally for Iola in the bottom of the second, the Mustangs kept up the pressure in the bottom of the third.
Ben Kerr started the rally with a bunt single. Weide followed with a walk, and Cloud’s sacrifice bunt attempt became another hit when he beat the throw to first. Dougherty followed with an RBI single to score a run. Mac Leonard followed with a sacrifice fly to right, pushing Iola ahead, 2-0.
Lucas Maier’s two-out walk in the third turned into another run after Prairie View’s first baseman committed an error on Ben Kerr’s subsequent single, allowing Maier to circle the bases.
Back-to-back walks to lead off the fifth turned into Iola’s fourth run on Dougherty’s RBI grounder.
Dougherty allowed only one baserunner — a second-inning walk — in his five hitless innings of work. He struck out two.
Weide came on in relief in the sixth and proceeded to strike out six batters over two hitless innings.
Kerr and Dougherty both singled twice to pace the offense. Cloud and Ashton Hesse also had singles.
ASHMORE started Cloud in Game 2, to pair him up against Prairie View ace Gabe Murillo, who recently tossed a 15-strikeout, one-hit shutout over Wellsville.
The Mustangs jumped out quickly. Back-to-back doubles from Cloud and Tre Wilson pushed Iola ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Jase Herrmann followed with a two-out single to score Wilson for the third run.
Another three-run rally followed in the second on RBI singles from Cloud, Wilson and Dougherty.
