OLATHE — After a few hiccups spoiled a furious comeback in their opening game Monday, Iola High’s Mustangs hit their stride in Game 2.
Iola was at Olathe’s Heritage Christian Academy in a game added to the schedule late last week. And after the playing surface at Iola’s Riverside Park was deemed too wet earlier in the day, the setting was moved to Olathe.
The host Chargers took advantage of some fielding misadventures to take leads of 5-0 and 11-3 before Iola plated seven in the bottom of the sixth to cut the gap to 11-10.
But Heritage Christian responded with five in the top of the seventh to secure a 16-11 win.
Iola didn’t do much moping. Rather, the Mustangs erupted for 14 hits in the nightcap, more than enough for Korbin Cloud to keep things in control of a 13-2 romp.
“It was good to get back in the win column after that first game,” Mustang head coach Ryan Latta said.
With staff ace Ryker Curry relegated to designated hitting duties because of an arm issue, the Mustangs were victimized by a little wildness (seven walks), four errors, five wild pitches, three hit batters and a partridge in a pear tree.
“They hit the ball pretty well,” Latta said of Heritage Christian. “You just can’t give teams that hit the ball that many chances. We’ve gotta clean it up defensively.”
The Chargers took the upper hand with two in the third and three in the fourth, before Iola reached the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth.
Landon Weide reached on an error, Curry singled and Drake DeLaTorre drew a walk to load the bases. Weide scampered home on a wild pitch, and Carter Hutton tripled in two to make it 5-3.
Heritage Christian answered promptly with six in the top of the sixth to re-establish an 11-3 cushion.
That cushion didn’t have much stuffing, however.
Titus Jones walked and TJ Taylor singled to start the bottom of the sixth. Weide was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Brandon McKarnin and Curry both drew walks to drive in two. DeLaTorre and Hutton followed with singles to slice the deficit to 11-7.
Cooper Riley then made things interesting with a line drive double to center to clear the bases.
But the rally was cut short after Jones slammed a line drive to center that was caught for an out, and relayed back to the infield to complete the double play.
A hit batter, two hits and an error sank Iola’s hopes in the seventh as the Chargers plated five.
