High School Baseball: Mustangs 10, Bulldogs 0; Mustangs 4, Bulldogs 0
Thanks to wintry weather postponing the baseball season, it wasnt until Tuesday that the Mustangs got their second taste of ball diamond dirt and mitt leather. The Mustangs shut-out sweep of Anderson County probably tasted pretty good.
I told the Chanute coach today that it doesnt feel like we even played that first game of the season, it was so long ago, Percy said. But you just didnt know what to expect coming in to today. Its been about a month, or at least it seems like it. Three weeks. Its crazy. They were excited to play, for sure. We spent a lot of time practicing in the gym, which for baseball is not good. It gets old after a while.
The Mustangs opened things up with a dominating 10-0 shutout in game one and followed that up with a slightly less flashy but still very effective 4-0 win in game two. With the wins, Iola, who came into this week ranked eighth in the Kansas Baseball Coaches Association poll in class 4A-II, stands at 2-1 and 2-0 in Pioneer League play.
There are a few things that we couldve done better, Percy said. We couldve scored a few more runs in the second game but our pitching was good and our defense was pretty good. All in all, it was a solid way to get back into the season.
Iola came out hot, scoring three runs in the first, one in the second, five in the third and one in the fourth to get the five-inning run-rule.
Junior starter Derek By-croft had a much better outing than his loss in the season opener at Chanute allowing just two hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. By-croft stuck out seven.
Senior Isaac Vink got his first taste of pitching action this season in relief, going 1.1 innings and allowing just one hit while striking out two. Vink did have some control issues, hitting a couple of batters but bore down when it counted to preserve the shutout and get the save.
Those are the kinds of performances that were looking for, Percy said, And even with Isaac, that was his first pitching appearance all season. The other three guys got some reps in the Chanute game. But it was good that we were able to get those guys in and get them some work because eventually, were going to need them.
Sophomore Calvin Delich had the big bat in game one, getting two RBIs off three hits. Vink was right behind with two RBIs off of two hits.
In game two, Iola started off with two runs in the bottom of the first but after that, scoring was much more sporadic. The Mustangs scored one in the bottom of the third and one in the bottom of the fifth and left the rest up to pitching and their defense.
Senior Ethan Tavarez followed up By-crofts performance with something equally impressive, going 3.2 innings while allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out four batters.
Sophomore Cal Leonard followed, pitching for the final 3.1 innings and allowing just one hit while recording four strikeouts.
Bycroft got it going offensively in game two, leading the way with two RBIs on three hits. He was the only Mustang batter in game two to have multiple hits or RBIs.
We put the ball in play and hit it hard, Percy said. Derek hit the ball really hard today and Calvin Delich hit a couple of really good shots, too. We just have to keep working and keep getting better because the competition is going to keep improving.
The Mustangs will host rival Chanute for the home half of their one-and-one series on Friday if weather permits. If not, Iola will see the dugout again next Tuesday when they travel to Osawatomie.
I hope we can, Percy said, The way that we have it booked for the rest of the season were playing two doubleheaders a week so if we cant play on Friday Im not sure well be able to pick up that game later down the line. Well see what happens. Hopefully, well get it in.
