There’s no real secret behind Iola High’s improved softball of late.
The Mustangs, who are increasingly relying on a stable of talented young performers, scuffled a bit at the start of the season, dropping six of their first eight.
But, from all appearances, Iola has hit its stride, thanks in large part to improved play across the board.
Iola had little trouble picking up its third and fourth victories in a row Tuesday, drilling visiting Parsons 10-0 and 11-1 to move back to .500 on the season at 6-6.
And those youngsters have gelled quite nicely with Iola’s upperclassmen.
“We’re starting to come together as a team,” head coach Chris Weide said. “The girls are doing a great job of picking each other up.”
Even better, those players — young and old — have thrived at different spots in the field, and at the bat.
“I have quite a few options of where to put girls,” Weide said. If anything, “it’s hard to play them all. That’s a good problem to have.”
Consider the battery mates in Tuesday’s opener — pitcher Elza Clift and catcher Reese Curry — are both freshmen.
Clift pitched five shutout innings, allowing only three hits, while striking out three and walking one.
Curry, meanwhile, went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and three RBIs. She got things started with a two-run double in the first inning.
But they were hardly the only ones who shined on one of the few nice weather days Iola has experienced in 2022.
“Every girl in every position played well,” Weide said. “Defensively, they did their jobs. Offensively, they were aggressive. Our pitching was solid. We threw a lot of strikes. Overall, it was a really good night.”
Back-to-back Parsons errors to start the second keyed two more Iola runs, before Jenna Curry singled and Reese Curry tacked on an RBI single. Chloe Sell was next with a two-run single to make it 7-0.
Reece Murry, back in the lineup after missing the past two weeks due to illness, ripped a run-scoring double to make it 8-0 in the third.
Harper Desmarteau and Jadyn Kaufman added RBIs in the fourth to complete the scoring.
