CARBONDALE — The Iola Mustangs will enter the postseason as the No. 4 seed after sweeping the Santa Fe Trail Chargers Friday, 6-5 and 10-3.
Iola could potentially take a four-game winning streak to Thursday’s playoff opener against Columbus after edging the Chargers in the opener thanks to a bases-loaded walk to seal the opener, then held on in the nightcap 10-3 victory while capitalizing on several walks by Santa Fe .
Junior pitcher Kale Pratt picked up the win in the opener with nine strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. Junior Jase Herrmann came in for the save while taking the mound in the final 2 2/3 innings for a strikeout and allowing two runs on two hits and a walk.
After going scoreless in the opening frame, senior outfielder Jackolby Hill, who was Iola’s leader in hits and RBIs while successful in 3 of 4 at-bats with two runs driven in, posted his first with a sacrifice fly in the second inning.
The Chargers responded with three runs in the third inning and then forced extra innings with a pair of runs in the seventh.
A Hill RBI single in the sixth inning cut Santa Fe’s lead to one run. A sacrifice fly by freshman designated hitter Broden Emerson tied the game 3-3.
In the seventh inning, the Mustangs took the lead off a Pratt RBI grounder and a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Austin Crooks for the eventual 6-5 win.
After a barn burner in the opener, the Mustangs took the nightcap by a sizable margin. Junior first baseman Roy Gordon, Hill and freshman reliever Braylon Keithly each had two-RBI performances.
Emerson picked up the win, striking out three batters while allowing two runs on four hits and two walks. Keithly picked up the save after coming in to start the fifth inning.
After going scoreless in the first two innings, Wilson put Iola on the scoreboard for a game-tying sacrifice fly only to have Iola‘s bats go silent.
Down 3-1 in the sixth inning, Hill tied the game 3-3 off a two-RBI double. Keithly drove in Hill for a 4-3 lead with a single, and later scored on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch in the seventh gave Iola a 6-3 lead, then a two RBI single by Gordon moments later extended it to 8-3.
Iola added a pair of insurance runs on a Keithly RBI single and an RBI single from senior shortstop, Nick Bauer, who recently signed to play for Neosho Community College. Bauer, Gordon and Keithly each had two hits.
With the win, the Mustangs’ record improved to 14–6 with only one game left in the regular season, which will come too late to count for them in the regional standings. They faced Colgan Monday, but the results were not available by press time. They host Columbus to open the postseason Thursday. First pitch is at 5 p.m.
