CHANUTE — The Iola Mustangs hope to rebound from Tuesday’s 6-4, 6-3 sweep at the hands of the Chanute.
Despite holding their own throughout both contests Tuesday, one inning seemed to make the difference in both games.
The Mustangs look ahead to their April 1 return to the diamond when they host Burlington for their home opener.
“I was disappointed in the result, but not the effort,” Iola coach Chris Weide said. “They could have folded, and we’ve had teams in the past that folded quite a bit. We battled through it and gave ourselves a chance.”
Following a 0-0, first-inning stalemate, senior first baseman Kaysin Cruisinbery drove in a pair of runs on a line-drive double. A fifth-inning RBI grounder from sophomore pitcher Zoie Hesse extended Iola’s lead to 3-1, then another grounder by senior outfielder Kendyl Bycroft took Iola’s lead to 4-1. However, a sixth-inning grand slam by junior outfielder Avery Dean turned the tide to give Chanute a 6-4 victory.
“We talk about potential all of the time,” Weide said. “We have a really good group. It’s just everybody working together. If we can get things to come together, then we can be a really solid team.”
The Mustangs saw a reverse in fortune in every way but the final outcome as it was Chanute who jumped out to an early lead and Iola rallying in the end.
Facing a six-run deficit going into the sixth inning, Iola finally got on the scoreboard with three runs in one swing after senior pitcher Elza Clift’s base-clearing triple. That was as close to victory as the Mustangs would get as a ground out and strikeout brought the game to a close.
Clift ended the game with the team-lead in RBIs with three while hitting 1 of 4. Clift also batted a respectable 1 of 4 along with Bycroft. Senior outfielder Alana Mader batted 1 of 2 after coming on due to a lineup change, when senior catcher Harper Desmarteau left the game with an injury.
On the mound, Clift ended the evening with two strikeouts over six innings while allowing four hits and four earned runs.
“If we hit, then we’re going to be a really solid team, but I think we have to hit better than that to get things to go our way,” Weide said.
