There is never truly a must-win situation in high school softball until playoff time, but Tuesday’s home games for the Iola Fillies against the Osawatomie Trojans felt about as close as it gets.
“It was really big,” Iola senior shortstop Sydney Wade said. “We started (the season) out well and then we hit a slump. But I think we are back to our original selves and playing like the team we are expected to be.”
Iola came into the game with a 1-7 record against a brutal schedule to begin the season and desperately needed to see some things go right.
“It was really nice to win,” Iola sophomore pitcher Sierra Snavely said. “We’ve had some ups and downs these past few games, but we came together and pulled through. It is nice to get that rejuvenating feeling and get pumped for Chanute.”
A sweep over the Trojans proved to be just what was required.
“We have talked about confidence for a while,” Iola coach Chris Weide said. “You can talk all you want, but until you win some games, it is really tough for the girls to see that they are improving.
“We started a new season today. As of today, we are 2-0, so that is what we are going with.”
Junior third baseman Chloe Gardner got the scoring started in the first game when she drew a four-pitch walk and scored on a two-out single by Snavely.
Although Iola added six more runs later in the game, that one would have been all Snavely needed. She threw a complete-game shutout to earn the win.
Even though she gave up eight hits, Snavely struck out 10 batters while not surrendering a single walk.
“We know that she has the potential to do that every game and it just gave our fielders a lot less stress,” Wade said.
At the plate, it was Iola’s senior leaders who stepped up.
Wade, Jadyn Sigg and Riley Murry accounted for six of the team’s nine hits and four of their five extra-base hits.
“We knew coming in that we had some great senior leadership this season,” Weide said. “We have some great young ballplayers, but those seniors are going to show them how they play the game. We have struggled a little bit, but they have stayed positive the whole way.”
Iola got their second run of the game in the fourth inning when Sigg led off with a double and came around to score on a two-out double by freshman Kelsey Morrison.
In the sixth inning, Wade collected her own double to get into scoring position for Gardner, who scored her on single after working into a full count.
“I feel good (at the plate),” Wade said. “My job is to get on base as the leadoff and I feel like I do that.”
After another Sigg hit, Gardner came around to score on an Osawatomie error.
The Fillies continued to pile on in the seventh inning with three more runs.
Morrison and sophomore Madisyn Holloway reached on an error and a walk to put two runners on for Wade, who connected on a triple to left field to score both runners.
Wade later scored as Gardner collected another RBI to provide the final 7-1 margin of victory.
GAME TWO
The second game had inauspicious start for the Fillies when the first batter of the game singled to left field, but advanced to second on an error by Morrison.
The Osawatomie runner proceed to third base with a stolen base and then scored on a sacrifice fly to give Osawatomie an early lead.
Snavely buckled down after that however and threw three-straight scoreless innings to give her offense a chance to fight back.
“I believe in my team 100 percent,” Snavely said. “Them getting runs for me means everything to me as a pitcher. They have my back on defense and then on offense when it all comes together, it is unbelievable what we can do.”
In the bottom of the fourth they did just that with three-straight singles to begin the inning by Gardner, Murry and Sigg.
The biggest hit of the inning came from the freshman with a need to atone for her error way back in the first.
Morrison roped a double to left-center field with two outs and scored Murry and Sigg to give Iola its first lead of the game.
The lead stood up as Snavely gave up an unearned run in the fifth, but was able to hold the Trojans down the rest of the way and earn a 3-2 win.
Snavely finished the second game with just one earned run on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
Gardner led the Fillies at the plate with two hits.
UP NEXT
The Fillies are now 3-7 on the year and will have a chance to continue that momentum on Thursday when they face Chanute for a non-league game at Riverside Park to makeup for an earlier rain out.
