High School Baseball: Mustangs 10, Chargers 3; Mustangs 10, Chargers 0
Something interesting happened Tuesday night after the Iola baseball team swept Santa Fe Trail to clinch both the Pioneer League championship and the No. 1 seed in next weeks 4A-II Regional Tournament in Frontenac.
Well, it was less what didnt happen than what happened.
There was very little excitement. No more than your standard win, anyway. No celebratory hugs or exuberant dog piles on home plate. There really werent even big fist pumps or high fives.
The average person wouldnt have even been able to tell that the Mustangs had completed the first of a series of goals that they hope will lead them to a state championship. It was all just more matter-of-fact, pleased with themselves at what had been accomplished but with a veterans eye down the road at the bigger things to come.
The teams demeanor exuded a mindset that there are several chapters still unread for this team that is 17-1 after winning their 16th and 17th game in a row.
You might not think it but that goal is hard to achieve, head coach Mark Percy said. Our league has good enough teams that if you slip up here or there you wont do it. Last year we lost to a 4-14 Anderson County team and that cost us a league title. So Im pleased. That was our first and main goal. Now that weve accomplished that, well go from there.
Despite the momentous win, the way the Mustangs got it done was not quite up to their standard.
In the 10-3 game one win, the Mustangs left 12 guys on and had nearly every opportunity to end the game early on a run-rule but just couldnt get the clutch hits.
Iola went into the fifth leading 7-0 and coughed up their first three runs of the game off reliever Calvin Delich who is still adapting to pitching on the varsity level so far this season.
He allowed three runs on two hits and three walks and struck out four in his two innings.
I thought we were pretty flat tonight, Percy said. Our pitching wasnt very sharp and then until the end there we werent getting clutch hits when we needed them. It wasnt the level of intensity that I like and some nights its just kind of hard, but weve got to reach down because weve got bigger things to play for.
Starter Derek Bycroft got the win and was absolutely dominant in his four innings before getting pulled so the Mustangs can give him a few innings on Thursday versus Independence before heading into regionals.
Bycroft threw four perfect innings while striking out seven Chargers. The frustration of his dominance caused expletives to emit from the Santa Fe Trail dugout that rose both in quantity and volume after every strikeout.
Senior Ethan Tavarez and sophomore Casen Barker each had three hits in the game followed by two each for senior Isaac Vink and sophomore Brady Wiggin.
In game two, the Mustangs managed to get a 10-0 run-rule in five innings thanks to a six-run bottom of the fifth.
