Walking off for their second win of the season, the Parsons Vikings beat the Iola Mustangs, 8-7, at Forest Park on Tuesday.
Parsons trailed 4-1 through two innings as the Vikings’ bats were late-arriving.
Twice the Vikings stranded the bases loaded. But four runs in the sixth inning tied the game at 7-7.
After blanking Iola in the top of the seventh, Parsons plated the game-winning run in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single from Kadence Ball.
“We were controlling our emotions at the plate and didn’t let Iola dictate our at-bats,” Parsons head coach Shelby Liska said. “We stayed disciplined and that let us hit line drives and hard ground balls. I’m glad we made those adjustments.”
Maria Wilson earned the win in the circle, her second of her career. Wilson threw all seven innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts.
“She ended the game stronger than she started,” Liska said. “When runners got on, she lost command of the zone a little bit. But when we told her she needed to step it up, as the game progressed, she got mentally tougher.”
Three Vikings had two-hit games – Ball, Kera Haviland and Chassis Baker — while all but one batter recorded at least one knock.
“These girls have so much heart and grit,” Liska said. “To have it in statistics for everybody else to see is endearing. It’s taking everybody to make runs happen — being disciplined, getting a bunt down, tagging up runners. We were challenging everybody and it paid off.”
Liska also got greedier advancing runners as the game progressed, squeezing every opportunity for all it was worth.
“The girls got more confident and I want to be more aggressive on the basepaths,” Liska said. “We’re able to run the bases better this season.”
With the win, Parsons is now 2-7 overall on the season. While the Vikings are still undergoing a massive rebuild, the two wins mark an improvement over last year and guarantee two straight seasons of an increased win total.
“Every game is a new challenge,” Liska said. “And it’s a new opportunity. We’re not a fluke or a guaranteed win for other teams anymore. When they play us, they need to go all out. Our girls are facing everything and they want the full show.”
Parsons is scheduled to host Southeast on Friday.
“Unless it’s raining, we’ll play,” Liska said.
Parsons: K. Ball 2 H, 2 R, 1 RBI; K. Haviland 2 H, 2 R; A. Waun 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI; B. Mitchell 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI; M. Wilson 1 H, 1 RBI; A. Salyers 1 RBI; R. Dunlay 1 H; L. Haviland 1 H, 1 R; C. Baker 2 H, 1 R; M. Wilson (W) 7 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 3 K, 3 BB
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