Mustang magic ride headed to state

GARNETT — As Levi Ashmore covered first base from the pitcher’s mound late Thursday, two things crossed his mind.
First, he was worried whether the soft toss from first baseman Tyler Clubine would stick in his glove to record the final out in their regional championship game.
Second on his mind?
“Who was going to be my roommate in Salina,” he chuckled.
Salina is the site of the Class 4A State Baseball Tournament.
Thursday’s 7-3 win over Paola and 17-6 romp over Fort Scott puts Iola in the state tournament for the first time in the school’s nine-year-old baseball history.
Iola (18-0) will take on Coffeyville’s Field Kindley High School at 11 a.m. Thursday at Salina’s Dean Evans Stadium. The winner will advance to the state semifinal and final round Friday.
“I’ve told these guys that one of these years, Iola baseball is going to go to state,” Mustang coach Mark Percy said. “We’re as good as anybody, and these kids are focused right now.”
The Mustangs punched their state ticket by responding immediately after both Paola and Fort Scott took early leads.
Then, the Mustangs took control by use of their devastating brand of “small ball” — working the counts to get on base via hit or walk; staying uber-aggressive and advancing into scoring position in any way possible; then watching their opponents self-destruct.
“We’re a scrappy team,” said senior Mason Coons, who picked up the win in the championship game. “We don’t have a bunch of power hitters, but we have guys who are aggressive. We’re 100 percent scrappers.”
Iola trailed Fort Scott 2-0 and 3-2 in the title game before putting their first 11 batters on base in the bottom of the third. By the time the dust cleared, the Mustangs had plated 10 to go up 12-3.
Coons and Drew Faulhaber had RBI singles during the rally. Aaron Barclay and Clubine drew bases-loaded walks for RBIs. Eric Heffern was hit by a pitch with the bases full. Ashmore, who opened the inning with a single, had another single in his second at bat of the frame to drive in two. Coons and Weir capped the rally with RBI ground balls.
The Tigers changed pitchers twice during the outburst, to no avail.
“We knew when it was 6-3 that we had to keep going because their guys could hit the ball,” Ashmore said. “We had to stay aggressive.”
“We’ve been successful all year because we don’t sit on our heels and get nervous,” Percy said. “The guys are aggressive, and they’ve been confident the whole year. We got behind in both games, but we didn’t lose our confidence.”
Iola tacked on five in the fourth, spearheaded by Clubine’s leadoff triple. Faulhaber, Heffern and Ashmore followed with RBI singles. Trent Latta walked before Coons singled in Ashmore. Weir launched a double to the outfield that scored Latta, but Coons was gunned down at the plate in his attempt to end the game via Kansas’ 15-run mercy rule.
Small matter.
Fort Scott scored three in the top of the fifth before Ashmore was called in to slam the door. He retired the final two Tiger batters on ground balls, including the game clincher.
Coons surrendered 10 hits and four walks with a strikeout.
The Mustangs pounded out 16 hits. Ashmore went 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs. Latta had two singles and three runs. Coons drove in four with a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly. Weir had a single and two doubles with two RBIs. Clubine had a double and triple in his only two official at bats with three runs. Faulhaber had a pair of singles, three RBIs and two runs. Heffern had a single, two runs and two RBIs.

Things were a bit tighter in the opener.
Iola spotted Paola a 3-0 lead in the top of the third before responding in the bottom half to tie the score.
Levi Ashmore walked, stole a base — his 23rd of the season in as many attempts — and scored on a Coons triple. Derrick Weir followed with an RBI double. Aaron Barclay’s follow-up single tied the score.
The game stayed tied until Weir opened the fifth inning with a single. Clubine walked. Faulhaber’s infield single gave Iola its first lead, 4-3. Heffern followed with an RBI single.
Latta tripled and Coons singled in the bottom of the sixth for Iola’s final run.
Latta pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
“Trent’s pitching was huge,” Percy said.
“I started hitting my spots,” Latta said. “It was my plan to go the whole game.”

WHILE ELATED to make it to state, Coons and Ashmore both noted more work remains.
“We want to win a state title,” Barclay said. “We’re not done yet.”
“Making it to state means everything to me,” Coons added. “It means everything to this team, especially to guys like Levi and me. We’ve been working all our lives for something like this.
“A lot of people said we couldn’t do this after we came so close last year, because we lost seven of our nine starters and our whole pitching staff,” Barclay said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys stepping up, one through nine.”
There’s one other goal to reach in Salina.
Barclay and Coons both noted that Percy is at 99 career wins as head coach of Iola.
“We want to do this for Coach Percy,” Coons said. “We want to get him to 100. He deserves all of this.”