The Iola Mustangs hope to quickly put Thursday’s doubleheader behind them after falling in both games to the Galena Bulldogs, 13-6 and 11-1.
The Mustangs fizzled in the opener after facing an early barrage of runs, then fell apart after a strong start to the nightcap, which had Iola Coach Chris Weide looking for a quick bounce back Friday while hosting Coffeyville. Friday’s results were not available by press time.
“I’m disappointed with the effort. I told them Galena was a solid team,” Weide said. “They’ve won their last eight of ten and play in a great league. They’re tested, and we came out and gave up four errors in the first inning. You can’t do that to a good team and expect to compete.”
Freshman pitcher Hayden Desmarteau took the loss in the opener after tallying two strikeouts over seven innings, allowing 13 runs on 16 hits and six walks.
After giving up six runs in the opening frame, Iola was left playing catch up. Freshman first baseman Breighlynn Rutherford put Iola on the scoreboard after her grounder forced an error, resulting in a pair of runs. An error forced on a single by freshman third baseman Kailyn Rodriguez also added another run. Yet another error on a grounder by freshman shortstop Kinzley Fountain cut Galena’s lead to three.
“We did some things, we stuck in and had better at-bats, and played good defense but we dug ourselves too deep of a hole,” Weide said.
A TRIO of two-run innings by Galena in the fourth, fifth and sixth put Iola out of reach. The Mustangs responded with a fifth-inning single from freshman outfielder Kashyn Curry and a sixth-inning grounder by freshman outfielder Hope Thompson, but it was not enough to get back into contention. Rodriguez had a team leading two hits followed by sophomore third baseman Addie, Wacker, and junior outfielder Shaylee Karns, who had one hit each.
DESMARTEAU got the start again in the finale but left before the end of the first inning after picking up a strikeout. Fountain took the loss, pitching for three innings while tallying three strikeouts, allowing 10 runs on seven hits.
After giving up a run in the opening frame, Iola responded with a run after Desmarteau scored on a wild pitch. She also picked up Iola’s only hit of the Thursday’s nightcap.
“We didn’t compete in the second game, and I don’t know where the girls’ heads are,” Weide said. “We can’t afford to be tired. Every team in the state plays 26 games a year, minus rainouts. We just have to fight through it. We were really immature tonight, and it has nothing to do with youth.”
With the loss, the Mustangs’ record fell to 9–11, but they’re not done with the regular season nor the Pioneer League just yet. The Mustangs hosted Coffeyville Friday, but results were not available at press time. They head on the road to wrap up the pioneer league season Tuesday against Santa Fe Trail.
“It’s a good thing we can get back on the field tomorrow, but we have to do things differently,” Weide said Thursday evening. “If we play like we did tonight, we’re going to struggle. I have faith we’ll play better.”
