The Iola High softball team fought tooth and nail against Burlington but was unsuccessful in their pair of matchups at home on Tuesday night.
The Mustangs (0-4) made it a tied game in the second inning and a three-run game in the fifth but couldn’t withstand Burlington’s late offensive run while falling in game one, 15-7. Iola was then shut out in their second game, 15-0.
Game one
Iola head coach Chris Weide turned to his reliable starting pitcher, Elza Clift, to pitch both games of the doubleheader with Burlington. She allowed only two runs in the first inning before the Mustangs knotted it up in the bottom of the first.
Aysha Houk and Clift each reached base in the bottom of the first inning and later scored on a pair of RBI fielder’s choices by Jadyn Kaufman and Harper Desmarteau.
“I felt like we were a bit more aggressive tonight. We had some more confident swings,” said Weide. “The deeper into the season we get, they will get more live at bats and become more comfortable. Just being more confident and comfortable at the plate is key.”
After Burlington brought another runner around to score in the top of the second, Iola’s Reese Curry smacked an RBI single to center field to knot the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the second. The Mustangs were held scoreless until a four-run fifth inning.
Iola allowed three runs in the top of the fourth inning when Burlington’s Hannah Sides and Carlee Cole touched home plate to make it a 6-3 Wildcat lead.
“Elza pitched really well tonight. She threw a ton of strikes and battled through some tough situations,” Weide said. “Defensively, it’s a lack of focus sometimes. We make a mistake and have trouble letting it go. We carry it over to the next inning or the next play.”
After Burlington scored four runs in the top of the fifth for a 10-3 lead, Iola plated four runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it a three-run game. Alana Mader, Clift, Curry and Desmarteau all scored to cut into the deficit and make it a 10-7 game.
That was all the offensive firepower the Mustangs could come up with as Burlington added on five more runs in the top of the seventh for the 15-7 final.
Iola finished with 11 total hits, led by Houk’s three hits and Clift, Curry, Kaufman and Desmarteau each knocked two hits. Houk and Clift each scored a team-high two runs.
Game two
It was all Burlington in the second game. The Wildcats waited until the fifth inning to break through for a score, plating four runs in the fifth, three runs in the sixth inning and eight runs in the seventh.
“We have to stop the four- or five-out innings where we make a couple errors and give them free outs,” said Weide. “It puts you in a hole that’s hard to climb out of.”
