CHANUTE — Friday’s season-opener had a little bit of everything on the baseball diamond for Iola High’s Mustangs.
Head coach Ryan Latta wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Iola rode the sterling pitching of starter Ryker Curry, some timely hitting at the top of the lineup and a tense late-inning situation calmly secured by Jarrett Herrmann in a 5-3 win over host Chanute.
“It was exactly how I wanted to get the season started,” Latta said.
Curry, who has signed to pitch next season at Pittsburg State University, pitched four shutout innings for the Mustangs, allowing only a first-inning single, while striking out three.
“Got his fastball and slider over, and showed great composure on the mound the whole game,” Latta said. “That’s all you can do.”
Meanwhile, Herrmann and Brandon McKarnin spearheaded the Mustang offense, with three hits apiece.
Iola put multiple baserunners on the diamond in every inning, building a 5-0 lead along the way.
Herrmann, who pitched the final three innings, was able to fend off a late Chanute rally to secure the win. The Blue Comets took advantage of consecutive hit batters and an error in the bottom of the seventh to cut the deficit to 5-3 with one out, and the tying run at bat.
But Herrmann was able to retire Chanute’s final two batters on a fly ball to center and a ground ball to third to pick up the save. He allowed two hits with two strikeouts over his three innings of work.
“Jarrett came in and competed,” Latta said. “We need him to step up for us. For him to be able to do that is huge.”
A quick sequence set the tone for the game in what wound up being a scoreless first inning.
Iola loaded the bases, but came up empty, and then Chanute’s leadoff hitter reached on an error by Iola second baseman Korbin Cloud.
Cloud, making his first ever varsity start, rebounded nicely on the next pitch, when Chanute’s L. Koester hit another grounder to the Mustang sophomore. He cleanly fielded the ball, flipped it to shortstop Landon Weide, who threw a laser to first to complete the double play.
“That’s what you have to do,” Latta said. “I tell the guys all the time, go onto the next play. Don’t worry about it. You want the ball hit to you. Korbin showed he wanted the next ball hit to him and he was ready for it. That’s what you’ve got to do.”
