If there’s a silver lining for Iola High’s softball team, it’s that Tuesday’s performance against Santa Fe Trail was this week and not next.
That’s because the Fillies’ 5-0 and 7-1 setbacks may affect Iola’s seeding for the postseason, but doesn’t end a promising 2021 campaign altogether.
“That’s what I told the girls,” head coach Chris Weide said. ‘We don’t have to sulk on it.”
That’s because Iola still has two more games to play today to wrap up the regular season, with a doubleheader at Osawatomie.
Weide is eager to see the Fillies return to the crisp defense and swarming offense that local fans have grown accustomed to during their nine-game winning streak (which was snapped with Tuesday’s defeats.)
Weide noted Iola’s struggles against the Chargers was all-encompassing.
Their inability to make solid contact at bat carried over to struggles afield, he said. Iola mustered only four hits in the opener, and six in the nightcap.
Conversely, the Fillies committed four fielding errors in the 5-0 loss, and five in the 7-1 defeat.
“Our lack of hitting the first game really affected our whole game play,” Weide said. “It transferred to defense, where we weren’t on our toes. We were kind of sulking about the last play, our last at bat, instead of being ready to go on defense.”
The defensive miscues spoiled Reece Murry’s pitching performance. She allowed four hits and struck out 10 batters.
Problem was, every time Iola committed an error, Santa Fe Trail made the Fillies pay dearly.
Aside from a run-scoring double for SFT in the second inning, all of the other Charger runs were unearned.
“That’s too good of a team to make mistakes like that,” Weide said. “They’re gonna definitely make you pay for it.”
Santa Fe Trail freshman pitcher Kaelee Washington kept Iola hitters off balance from start to finish.
Aysha Houk led off the game with a single, and made it to third, but was stranded there when Washington struck out the next three batters.
“She’s probably the best pitcher we’ve seen all year,” Weide said. “She’s a freshman and she throws hard. She had a good changeup and she located it well.”
