LA CYGNE — Iola High’s baseball players did some long-distance running Tuesday.
The Mustangs racked up four inside-the-park-home runs in a doubleheader sweep against host Prairie View.
Three of them came in the opener.
Bradyn Cole got the action started with a three-run, inside-the-park shot to give Iola a 3-0 lead en route to a 15-3 romp.
The fun continued in game 2. Iola’s 12-run second inning was more than enough in an 18-3 win.
Iola head coach Ryan Latta noted Prairie View’s spacious outfield, coupled with a turf that was mowed shorter than most outfields allowed line drives to continue rolling to the wall.
That allowed Iola’s baserunners extra time to take an extra base or three.
“Credit to our hitters,” Latta said. “They hit the ball well.”
After Cole put Iola on top 3-0, Kole Rogers pushed the margin to five runs with a two-RBI single, scoring Brandon McKarnin and Dillon Slaven.
Nathan Louk’s inside-the-park home run came with two outs and nobody on base in the second, pushing the lead to 6-0.
Dillon Bycroft’s two-run double made it 8-0. Two more runs scored on a Buffalo fielding error. Kole Rogers then drove in McKarnin with a single and scored on another Prairie View error to make it 12-1.
The Buffalos got two more runs back on a two-run blast in their half of the fourth, but Jarrett Herrmann completed Iola’s inside-the-park hat trick to lead off the fifth.
Louk’s RBI double and Cole’s RBI single ended the scoring.
The offensive outburst made life easy for Louk on the mound, as he cruised through his five innings of work, allowing three hits with 11 strikeouts and no walks. He also went 3-for-3 at the plate, coming up a double short of the cycle.
Cole went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Bycroft had a single and double, while Rogers and McKarning both singled twice.
THE MUSTANG hit parade continued in the nightcap.
Bycroft’s two-run double led to Cole’s RBI single before Brandon McKarnin walked and scored for a 4-0 lead — all before Prairie View could record the first out.
