HUMBOLDT — Iola High prevented a couple of speed bumps from becoming insurmountable mountains Tuesday.
The Mustang baseball team celebrated Senior Night with a pair of hard-fought victories over Wellsville, 14-6 and 11-5.
The key, head coach Ryan Latta, was Iola’s ability to maintain its focus on a cold, late night that featured a dedication to the outgoing senior class between games.
A patient and potent offense helped a bunch, too.
The Mustangs pounded out 11 hits in the opener, including Jarrett Herrmann’s team-leading third home run.
Iola withstood a five-run Wellsville outburst in the third inning by erupting for three in the fourth to retake a 7-6 lead, two in the fifth for insurance and five in the sixth to pull away.
“Our offense helped us out in both games,” Latta said.
Iola took full advantage of wild pitching to open things, scoring three runs without the benefit of a hit, but with four walks and two hit-by-pitches.
Herrmann made the first hit count, pounding a 1-0 pitch over the right field wall in the bottom of the second, pushing the Mustangs ahead, 4-1.
But a two-run triple was key in Wellsville’s five-run third as the Eagles jumped ahead, 6-4.
But the tenor changed when Iola’s Brandon McKarnin moved in to pitch and snuffed a potential fourth-inning Wellsville rally. He induced a pop-up and soft liner to first to end the inning with the bases loaded.
He then singled in Herrmann with one out in the fifth, and then came around to score on a wild pitch to knot the score at 6-6. Cooper Riley’s long drive to right became a sacrifice fly, scoring Ryker Curry, to push Iola ahead for good.
TJ Taylor led off the fifth with an infield single. He came around to score on an error before McKarnin singled in Landon Weide for a 9-6 advantage.
Riley continued the fun in the bottom of the sixth with a run-scoring double. Taylor scratched out an infield hit for another run before Korbin Cloud made it 12-6 with an RBI grounder.
Herrmann and Weide followed with RBI singles to cap the scoring.
