OSAWATOMIE — The battle for the Pioneer League title may come down to the last regular season game between the Iola Mustangs and the Santa Fe Trail Chargers after the Mustangs swept Osawatomie Tuesday night.
Timely hitting and flawless fielding put the Mustangs just two games away from sealing a league title as they defeated the Trojans 11-2 and 14-4.
“The result was what we wanted, but that last game wasn’t pretty,” Iola coach Chris Weide said. “We came out pretty flat, scored a couple of runs, but let them get back into the game. For a couple of innings, we were disappointed in our game, but we flipped the switch and put them away.”
Senior catcher Reese Curry put the Mustangs on the scoreboard in the first frame with a ground out RBI, then an RBI single by sophomore outfielder Brooklyn Holloway gave Iola a 2-0 advantage. In the second inning, senior third baseman Harper Desmarteau’s fly ball resulted in a pair of runs, extending Iola’s lead to 4-0, then Curry made at 5-0 on an RBI single in the fourth.
“I just watch Zoie (Hesse) hit, and think, OK, let’s get rolling,” Curry said. “It’s exciting. I feel like we have a really good team. Last year, we had a good team, but we didn’t always step up. I feel like we’re finally playing to our potential.”
A Curry homer put Iola up 8-1 by the sixth inning, and the Mustangs scored a trio of insurance runs on RBIs from Hesse and Holloway. Hesse ended the evening with a complete-game victory, tallying three strikeouts while allowing one earned run and two walks. Curry had a team leading four RBIs, followed by Holloway with three and Hesse with one.
“I trusted my defense a lot (Tuesday). Since Friday (in Paola), I’ve been able to trust them more,” Hesse said.
The Trojans had a bit more fight in them during the finale, but Iola put the game out of reach with 10 unanswered runs in the middle innings. While senior pitcher Elza Clift picked up the win with five strikeouts in the complete-game victory, the true story of the game may be the ascendency of Iola’s power hitting.
Curry tallied another four RBIs while going perfect at the plate in four appearances with four hits. Hesse nearly went perfect while tying Curry for the team lead in RBIs with four. Holloway drove in three RBIs while hitting in 3 of 4 at-bats.
The Mustangs will take a break from league play as they take Friday off, then head on the road for a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday against the Parsons Vikings. They face the Wellsville Eagles in the penultimate league doubleheader next Tuesday, May 2, before wrapping up with Santa Fe Trail the following Tuesday, May 9.
First pitches for Tuesday’s doubleheader are 4:30 and 6 p.m.
