The Iola Mustangs will head out on the road to take on the Wellsville Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Iola knows how to get runs on the board -- the squad has finished with ten runs or more in their past five games -- so hopefully Wellsville likes a good challenge.
Iola barely beat Emporia the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Mustangs blew past the Spartans 23-6 on Friday. The matchup marked the Mustangs' most dominant victory of the season so far.
Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Wellsville ultimately got the result they hoped for on Monday. They skirted past Oskaloosa 9-8.
Grace Brunmeier made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 4-for-6 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Those four hits gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Wellsville got a big performance out of Natalie Peel, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with one run and one double. What's more, Peel posted three hits, the most she's had since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaylee Wood, who went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.
Wellsville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .390. They are 9-2 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Iola's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-0. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 15.4 runs this season. As for Wellsville, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-12 record this season.
Everything went Iola's way against Wellsville when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Iola made off with an 18-8 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
