The Iola High softball team went down early and could never recover in a season opening 21-6 loss to Independence on Tuesday.
Pitching and defense is what faltered Iola most. Independence was able to take advantage and steal a number of extra bases, taking an 11-2 lead after three innings.
“I like that they battled, which I knew they would,” Iola head coach Chris Weide said. “We’ve seen these girls play volleyball and basketball so we know they’ll battle through anything. We saw today that no matter what’s going on, they’re going to fight through it.”
The Pirates greeted Mustang starter Elza Clift rather rudely, plating five runs in the top of the first inning to take control.
Aysha Houk put a spark in the Mustangs early when she knocked a single into center field and later scored on a Reese Curry RBI groundout. Curry then came around to score a run of her own in the third when Jadyn Kaufman belted an RBI triple to make it 11-2.
“It’s just like any game when you get down early, you’ve got to battle through it, fight back and just continue to be ready every pitch,” said Weide. “Whether you’re in the field or at the plate it’s the next pitch. It’s the same mentality, we have to make the play on that pitch.”
Iola found some offensive life again in the fourth when Houk, Clift and Curry each reached base and were plated for runs by Kaufman and Harper Desmarteau. Alana Mader also scored thanks to some passed balls by Independence and Iola trailed heading to the fifth, 15-6.
“We had some great at-bats which is where I thought we’d struggle,” Weide said. “We haven’t gone live yet and we haven’t had a chance to go live and be on the field. I thought we’d really struggle at the plate but they put good at-bats together and had a few rallies.”
“Most times when we score six runs, we’ll win,” Weide continued. “It just wasn’t our day on defense.”
Houk and Curry each scored two runs to lead the offensive charge.
Iola plays at Chanute on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
