GREAT BEND After a 17-3 season and another league and regional title, the Humboldt High baseball team is back in the state tournament.
The Cubs made the 3A state tournament last season and fell in the first round in a 5-4 extra-inning heartbreaker to Riley County. Now theyre the fourth seed in this years 2-1A tournament after reclassification last summer and looking to right some previous wrongs.
Humboldt is one of four teams returning to the state tournament, led by top seed Elkhart, which comes into the tournament as one of two remaining undefeated teams out of all classes in the state.
Last season, the Wildcats were also the top seed in 2-1A but they were bounced by eventual state runner-up and eighth seed Pittsburg-St. Marys Colgan in the opening round and now, they have the unenviable task of opening the tournament versus another private school in Wichita Independent, which won its regional bracket as a five seed.
Another returner to state is second seed Marion. The Warriors also made the trip to Manhattan last year for 3A state and finished third by knocking off the same Riley County team that beat Humboldt.
Marion is facing the final state tournament returner in seventh seed Prairie Village-Kansas City Christian in the third game of the day. KC Christian lost in the opening round of state but managed to fight through regionals as a four seed to advance.
Rossville comes in as possibly the hottest team in the field despite the fact that they are the seeded sixth. The Bulldogs roared through the regional tournament, outscoring their opponents 42-0 in their final three games. Rossville will take on third-seeded Sedgwick. .
Last but not least, Olathe-Heritage Christian Academy, a six-seed in the tournament that fought their way through the Central Heights regional as a two-seed, will be the team waiting for the Cubs today at around 1:15 p.m.
IF HUMBOLDT wants to advance beyond the first round, the Cubs will need to start with a solid pitching performance.
The Cubs have two seniors, Dagen Goodner and Gunner Elder, who have come into their own in the home stretch.
Both have compiled 4-0 records with 22 strikeouts a piece. Goodners scintillating 1.91 ERA is outdone slightly by Elders team-best, 1.29 ERA.
The Cubs also have in their quiver their workhorse in senior Xavier Bauer who leads the team in innings pitched with 38 and wins with six, with a 3.13 ERA.
Offensively, the Cubs should have no trouble. Theyve scored more than 10 runs or more in 14 of their 20 games.
Goodner, Elder and juniors Conor Haviland and Taylor Lassman lead the way from the plate with Goodner at the top in both hits and RBIs, 29 and 27, respectively.
No one is better than getting on base though than Haviland with 26 hits and 17 walks. And once he gets on base, hes dangerous. He leads the team with 24 stolen bases, one better than Elders 23.
