The undefeated Iola Mustangs made quick work of Pioneer League rival Prairie View Buffalos with a pair of five-inning mercy-rule victories Tuesday.
After a week away from the diamond due to a spate of cold, wet weather, the Mustangs needed an inning to acclimatize before finding their footing in a 14-4, 18-2 drubbing of the Buffalos.
“We had a little bit of a slow start,” Iola coach Levi Ashmore said. “But once the guys got rolling, they swung the bat well. Grady Dougherty pitched well. Then we handed the ball off to our other guys and they threw well.”
In the opener, junior shortstop Nick Bauer got the Mustangs out of the shoot with an RBI single, followed by a steal at home plate, which became increasingly prevalent throughout the night. Wilson kick-started a six-run second inning with an RBI double, then Bauer plated Wilson with an RBI double. Dougherty, a senior, scored on a passed ball and Kale Pratt all but secured the victory with a two-RBI double to end the frame.
Senior pitcher Gavin Jones picked up the win with three strikeouts over three innings while allowing a run. Pratt and junior Jace Herrmann spelled Jones for an inning. Pratt tallied two strikeouts, Herrmann had one and both allowed an earned run.
“Everybody was hitting their spots and where they needed to be,” Iola junior catcher Tre Wilson said. “It was just great pitching from all our pitchers. We’ve been working a lot (on hitting) during the rain break.”
Prairie View had a glimmer of hope after the second inning of the finale — leading 1-0. Iola slammed the door on any idea of a series split after scoring 18 unanswered runs in the third and fourth innings.
The third frame got off to a calamitous start after Prairie View walked the bases loaded, then walked a few more runners for good measure as multiple Mustangs jogged across home plate. Still loaded, Dougherty’s base-clearing double put Iola up 5-1 and the floodgates opened from there.
“I feel pretty good about it; 6-0 is a good thing. Once we got that first hit, we were rolling. We just do what we do,” Pratt said.
A two-RBI Pratt double and a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Aaron Crooks brought the third inning to an end, but the Mustangs were not done with their conference rival yet. Prairie View walked four straight runners to home plate and interspersed the free runs with RBIs from Crooks, Herrmann and Wilson.
As Dougherty held Prairie View without an earned run through 2 2/3s innings with five strikeouts, he also had a team-leading four RBIs. His last RBI was also the Mustangs’ final run of the night with his single securing an 18-2 mercy-rule before the fifth inning.
“Our bats were good, our offense was good and we were aggressive. We like that,” Ashmore said.
With the win, the Mustangs improve to 6-0 and next host another Pioneer League rival in Santa Fe Trail for a Friday doubleheader. First pitch for both contests are slated for 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.
