Through most of Iola’s game one 6-3 victory over Anderson County, Mustang coach Mark Percy was not pleased with what he had been seeing from his squad at Riverside Park on Tuesday.
“I was not happy with the way we played the first game,” Percy said. “We came out really flat. We had no emotion and left them in the game. It just wasn’t a very good game. No one really played well.”
Through five innings of baseball, Iola was clinging to just a 2-1 lead and the skipper was more than a little concerned.
Then in the sixth inning, the offense finally woke up. With one out in the inning, Tucker Fosha doubled down the left-field line.
After Anderson County recorded a second out, senior Keanen Badders was hit by a pitch and freshman Derek Bycroft drew a walk to load the bases for Isaac Vink.
With a 2-0 count, Vink got a pitch he liked and deposited it over the fence for a grand slam.
“I was looking for a fastball, he gave me one to hit and sure enough, I hit a home run,” Vink said.
Percy has been happy with the way his sophomore utility player has played all season.
“He has hit the ball pretty well all spring,” Percy said. “We had to get something going because we were flat.”
Anderson County got two of the runs back in the seventh inning, but it wasn’t nearly enough and Iola claimed the game one win.
Before game two began, Percy wanted to make sure his team came out and played more the way they are capable of.
Vink’s grand slam “was a big help,” Percy said of the attitude his team displayed in game two. “The words in between games were a big help too.
“As coaches, we want to win, but we are competitive and we want to play well and we didn’t play well. We aren’t going to win many games like that. They have to realize that.”
Percy’s pep talk yielded the desired results. The Mustangs dominated the Bulldogs in an 11-1 game that was called in the sixth inning.
Bycroft pitched for the Mustangs and was stellar. He allowed just two hits in his six innings of work.
The young hurler has pitched exceptionally well in the past week while fellow-pitcher Ben Cooper has missed time with an illness.
