Baseball, golf win titles

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May 8, 2013 - 12:00 AM

When Iola High’s 2012 baseball season ended in the Class 4A regional championship — the furthest the team had advanced in school history —  the Mustangs lost a number of talented performers to graduation.
While head coach Mark Percy understood some rebuilding was in order, he also knew the Mustangs weren’t exactly starting from scratch.
“We had some good ball players who just hadn’t had a chance to perform,” Percy said.
They’ve performed quite well, thank you.
Iola’s 7-3 victory Tuesday evening over Central Heights clinched the Pioneer League Tournament championship against the same team that shared the regular season crown with Iola.
Both were undefeated headed into Tuesday — their regular season matchup was rained out — but only Iola remained unbeaten at the tournament’s conclusion.
The feat was a testament to the work put in by some of the Mustangs’ most experienced players — Levi Ashmore, Mason Coons, Trent Latta and Aaron Barclay were key contributors in past seasons — as well as several newcomers to varsity baseball, Percy said.
“We had an entirely new outfield this year,” he said. “If you remember, we had a great outfield last season. To have Cole Morrison, Eric Heffern and Jacob Rhoads do what they did was huge for us.”
Those newcomers have become key performers in the latter portion of the season.
“Tyler Clubine is swinging the best he’s been all season,” Percy said. “Jacob Rhoads, who is in his first year of baseball, has stepped up and done a great job. Now that we have these guys producing at the bottom of the lineup, there’s really not a chance for the other pitcher to relax.”
He was equally effusive on the efforts of Derrick Weir, who is in his first year as the team’s starting catcher and has emerged as Iola’s leading hitter and run producer.
Weir also has impressed Percy with his skills behind the plate on defense.
Even more impressively, much of Iola’s success came during  a season in which practicing outdoors was almost an afterthought, thanks to a persistent barrage of cold and rain.
While nobody on the team had mentioned going unbeaten during the regular season, it was a goal in one aspect, senior Aaron Barclay said.
“We want to win every game we play,” he said. “We think we will win every time we go out there.”
“Our goal every year is to win league,” Percy said. “Now that we’ve done that, everything else is gravy.”
The “gravy” includes a return to the Class 4A regional playoffs, which start Monday, with the winner advancing to the state playoffs in Salina the following week.
“We have lots of good teams in our region,” Percy said. “We’re going to have to bring it.”
But for now, Iola can bask, if even briefly, on its unscathed mark through the Pioneer League.
“The kids worked hard,” Percy said. “They deserve this.”

THE MUSTANG golfers were equally as impressive Tuesday, securing a Pioneer League Tournament trophy at the Garnett Country Club.
The Mustangs scored a 311, good for second overall behind Ottawa, which hails from the Frontier League.
“I told the guys we had a good year,” golf coach Doug Kerr said, noting Iola defeated all but one Frontier League school while doing the same against schools from the Southeast Kansas League.
“To win one league and get second in two others is pretty nice,” he joked.
The golfers travel to El Dorado Monday to participate in the regional tournament.
The team understands how difficult a chore that may be.
“There’s a chance we could get this score again and not qualify,” Kerr said. “The competition is that tough.”

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