SALINA — Iola High’s dream season ended two runs short of the Mustangs’ goal — a state title.
In a thrilling championship game that had fans of both schools on the edges of their seats from the first pitch, it was Topeka-Hayden that fired the decisive volley.
In a span of three batters, the Wildcats turned a 4-3 deficit to Iola into a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth.
Hayden’s bullpen took over from there, thwarting every Mustang scoring opportunity in a 6-4 win.
The loss — Iola’s first of the season — means the Mustangs are Class 4A runners-up.
It marked the culmination of a deliriously wonderful stretch of baseball for Iola, which had rolled through the first two rounds of the state playoffs by a combined 11-2.
But that mattered little to the dejected Iola players, who were consoled by head coach Mark Percy and assistant coach Sherman Ashmore after the loss.
“Helluva season,” Percy said. “It was a great game.”
A pair of Mustang miscues in the first inning were pivotal, Percy said.
Hayden took a quick 3-0 lead on two Iola errors. All three runs were unearned.
“Hayden’s a good team, and they were able to get three quick runs off of us,” Percy said.
Iola rebounded quickly.
Levi Ashmore led off the bottom of the first with a single, stole second and scored on Aaron Barclay’s RBI single. Tyler Clubine followed an RBI single of his own, scoring Trent Latta, to cut the gap to 3-2.
Latta — who pitched brilliantly one day before in a quarterfinal win over Field Kindley — settled down after the first, holding Hayden scoreless over the next three innings.
Meanwhile, Iola took its first lead in the bottom of the third. Latta singled, then Coons line drive was dropped by the Hayden shortstop. Derrick Weir followed with a single to load the bases. Barclay’s ground ball scored Latta, then Coons was able to induce a Hayden mistake — the catcher dropped the ball as he attempted to score on a fly ball. Coons’ run put the Mustangs on top 4-3.
But that changed in the top of the fifth, starting with a one-out walk. Hayden’s Tanner Triggs blasted a triple to tie the score. Skylar Smith followed with a single to put Hayden back on top.
Iola put runners on base in every inning but the second. But Hayden’s pitching staff were able to withstand every challenge.
Triggs retired Iola’s Mason Coons on a ground ball with two outs in the fourth and a runner on second. The Mustangs’ Derrick Weir led off the fifth with a single, but was caught stealing. An error put Eric Heffern on second base, but Ashmore was retired on a pop-up to end the sixth.
Latta walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, but Hadyen’s Brogan Heinen retired the final three Mustangs in order. Clubine’s ground ball ended the game.
“We had trouble getting the big hit, but a lot of that is because of their pitching,” Percy said. “They’ve won state titles before. That team is good.”
Latta, Coons and Barclay combined to allow eight hits and two earned runs.
Latta and Weir each had two singles. Ashmore, Barclay, Clubine and Rhoads each singled once.
THE MUSTANGS flashed all kinds of leather against DeSoto earlier Friday to earn the championship berth.
Starting pitcher Coons was backed up by several sterling plays across the diamond in a 6-2 semifinal win.
Left fielder Cole Morrison gunned down DeSoto’s leadoff batter at third after he tried to stretch a double on the game’s first play. Right fielder Drew Faulhaber got into the act in the sixth, throwing out a runner at second.
Meanwhile, the Mustangs took advantage of DeSoto starter Corbin Clark’s wildness, utilizing two hit batters, a walk and an error to take a 1-0 lead. Aaron Barclay’s single scored Trent Latta to put the Mustangs ahead, 2-0.
The Wildcats evened the score at 2-2 in the top of the third. Morrison and Eric Heffern collided at the warning track on Clark’s drive to left center for a triple, scoring two.
Iola responded in the bottom half of the inning with the bottom half of the order — all with two outs and nobody on base.
Barclay’s single started the proceedings. Clubine walked and Jacob Rhoads was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Another walk to Faulhaber scored Barclay. Heffern stroked a single to left — Percy agreed after the game it was the biggest hit of the contest — ” to score two. Ashmore followed with an RBI double to cap the scoring.
That was all Coons needed. The senior held DeSoto hitless over the final four innings.
He surrendered four hits and a walk with one strikeout.
Barclay had two hits to pace the Mustang offense. Ashmore delivered a double. Coons and Heffern had singles.
THURSDAY’S quarterfinal win over Field Kindley of Coffeyville was keyed by Trent Latta’s pitching. He tossed a four-hit shutout,
“The key was getting ahead in the count,” Latta said. “I was able to hit my spots from the start.”
Levi Ashmore started the Mustangs’ third-inning rally with a bunt single. Latta aided his own cause with an RBI triple. Weir’s single two batters later scored Latta.
Faulhaber pushed the lead to 3-0 in the fourth with a single to drive in Jacob Rhoads.
Ashmore’s sacrifice fly drove in Tyler Clubine in the bottom of the sixth. Latta followed with his second RBI hit of the game, a single, to drive in Faulhaber.
Latta found trouble in two innings. He induced a double play grounder to Ashmore in the top of the third after two Field Kindley batters had singled.
Two more Golden Tornado singles with nobody out in the top of the sixth brought up the heart of the Field Kindley batting order.
Latta responded by striking out Grant Newton and Lucas Lindesmith before retiring Micah Elrod on a fly ball to end the threat.
