BURLINGTON — The Iola Mustangs don’t plan to let the sting of Tuesday’s losses to Wellsville and Burlington linger for long as they prepare to host a pair of non-league opponents for their first home triangular.
After spending the first three weeks of the season on the road, the Iola Mustangs face top-ranked Neodesha (16-2, 4-0) and West Elk (4-15, 1-3) in friendly confines Thursday.
“We’re definitely getting a lot of blocks and we’re getting set up well, which makes our hitters more confident,” Iola coach Lauren Moots said. “When we put a lot more pressure on the opposing team, instead of it being all on us, they work their tails off. They were closing very well and putting pressure on the hitters.”
The Mustangs are 0-4 in the Pioneer League following Tuesday night’s loss to Wellsville and Burlington.
Last week, Iola opened league play at Santa Fe Trail High School with losses to the Chargers and Anderson County, then added two more losses to their league record following encounters with the Wellsville Eagles and Burlington.
With the toughest portion of the Pioneer League now out of the way, Moots believes her team has time to continue its development before they start the second half of their Pioneer League next month.
“As long as we keep building and with every game, we’ll keep getting better, and the future is bright,” Moots said. “We don’t have to put it all together at once. Just keep working. We’re playing some great competition. As long as we can hang with them, then we can beat them. We’re on the right track.”
The Mustangs (1-9) will have plenty of opportunities to hone their skills this weekend as they head on the road for the Burlington Invitational.
They wrap up September on the road at Prairie View for a triangular against the Buffaloes (3-11, 0-5) and the Osawatomie Trojans (4-8, 1-4).
As a young team with no seniors on the roster, Moots believes her players can make a Cinderella run in the postseason. It will take incremental improvements to get there.
Until then, she hopes the Mustangs can play spoiler for the Pioneer League championship hopefuls and blemish a few records in the process.
“I told them, ‘Let’s go ruin some peoples’ records,’” said Moots, a first-year varsity head coach. “‘Be the underdog that upsets people. No one is expecting a lot out of you. We’re all newcomers.’ A lot of us are new and playing new roles on this team, so why not? Why not upset a team who’s not expecting it?”
