Isabella’s baseball team left eight men on base Friday in a loss to Reeltown in the first game of a best-of-three playoff series, and the Mustangs couldn’t recover in time to be competitive in the second game.

Isabella fell 11-7 in Game 1 and 16-2 in a five-inning Game 2 and was eliminated in the first playoff round.

Isabella coach Lanny Jones told his team before their last turn at bat in the first game to at least build some momentum for Game 2. The Mustangs (10-13) scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the momentum did not carry over into the second game.

“We just weren’t going to match what they were doing,” Jones said. “They were doing a good job getting runners in when they had them on base.”

Game 1 was tied at four until the top of the fifth. Reeltown’s Jacob Coan (2/5, 2 R, RBI) reached base on an error and scored one out later on a Shelby Flurry (4/5, R, 2 RBI) single. Flurry was thrown out at home plate by the relay from Isabella right fielder Sean Haigler (1/2, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI) to second baseman Allen Edwards to catcher Matt Morgan, but the visitors scored again anyway to make it 6-4.

Michael Langford (2/5, R, 3 RBI) led off the Reeltown sixth with a home run. Chase Chaffin (2/4, 3 RBI) added a two-run double with two outs to make it 9-4, and Isabella wouldn’t threaten again—including the whole second game.

The Rebels plated four runs in the first inning of Game 2 and cruised the rest of the way behind a two-run home run—over the scoreboard in left field—by Coan (3/3, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI), a three-run shot by Calan Waver (2/3, 3 R, 3 RBI) and a dominant pitching performance by Kyle Taunton.

“We’ve hit well the last couple of weeks,” Reeltown coach Mike Jones said. “Those kids were seniors that hit today. We’ve been waiting all year for them to break out.”

Taunton allowed two runs on eight hits and no walks in five innings while striking out four. Isabella’s Sean Haigler was the losing pitcher.

Flurry was the winning pitcher in the first game. He pitched four innings in relief of Coan. Flurry allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits and two walks while striking out seven. Isabella’s Austin Haigler was the losing pitcher.