The Iola Mustangs (16-7) will face Anderson County (16-6) in the opening round of the regional tournament Thursday.
Despite sweeping the Bulldogs last April, 5-3 and 12-8, the Mustangs intend to look at Anderson County as a clean slate.
“There is a target on our back. We got ranked second (in the state) a couple of months back and a lot of teams said we’re the team to beat,” senior pitcher Grady Dougherty said. “Anderson County is really solid. It’s hard to beat a good team three times in a row, and we’re going to have to find a way to do it on their field.”
If Iola makes it past the opening round, they’ll likely face Humboldt next.
The Mustangs seem to be in a bit of an awkward position heading into the postseason after splitting Friday’s doubleheader with Bishop Ward to wrap up the regular season.
Iola opened Friday’s series with a come-from-behind victory 6-5 thanks to a walk-off single by junior shortstop Nick Bauer, but Iola’s rally in the finale fell short of its mark in an 8-3 loss.
“Before I went up, I told some of the guys in the dugout ‘I’m not even worried. I have ice in my veins’ and I pulled through for my team,” Bauer said.
Dougherty picked up the win in the opener with nine strikeouts over six innings. Senior Gavin Jones picked up the save while coming in on relief in the seventh while keeping the Bishop Ward Cyclones scoreless in the final frame.
“I definitely did not have my best stuff,” Dougherty said. “The first inning, I came in and had a first pitch and it probably should have been an out early, but I went into a long at-bat and I feel like that set the tone for the next three innings. Everything was going to be a grind. Everything was going to be a battle.”
Iola found themselves in a 4-0 deficit following the second inning. They pulled within a run of the Cyclones after Dougherty picked up his two RBIs on a line-drive single, then freshman outfielder Kale Pratt plated Dougherty on a line-drive single.
The Cyclones attempted to pull away with a run in the sixth, but sophomore third baseman Austin Crooks kept Bishop Ward within striking distance with an RBI single.
After Jones kept Bishop Ward scoreless to open the top of the seventh, the Mustangs made the most of their final at-bat, drawing a pair of walks before Bauer’s fateful swing. Bauer ended the opener tied with Dougherty for the team-lead in RBIs with two each.
In the finale, junior catcher Tre Wilson gave Iola an early advantage, but they could not keep pace with the Cyclones, who ran away with the win after a three-run third inning and two runs in the fourth inning. A Bauer RBI double in the fifth and a sophomore pinch-runner Brock Michaels scored on a passed ball to keep the game respectable, but that’s as close as Iola would get to victory.
“We have to have a few days of practice next week and roll into Thursday with a lot of confidence,” Ashmore said. “We’ll have Anderson County in the first round. That’s our biggest thing, you don’t know what team will come out in the playoffs. We’re going to make sure we do. We’re going to make sure we control that with great practice days and know the right team is going to show up on Thursday.”
First pitch for Thursday’s Regional Tournament opener is at 5 p.m. in Garnett.
