The Humboldt Cubs put themselves in the win column in dramatic fashion Monday after holding off a pair of Neodesha rallies in a 9-4, 5-1 sweep.
After attributing their first loss to Frontenac to lack of preparation, a much more seasoned Cubs team arrived in Neodesha looking to get an early jump on their Tri-Valley Conference rival.
“That’s a good ball club. I told our guys, ‘They’re going to beat a lot of teams this year,’” Humboldt coach Mike Miller said. “That first game, when we got out to that big lead, I wish we would have kept the pressure on and put them away earlier than we did.”
A five-run first inning was all the cushion the Cubs needed in the opener Monday. Senior shortstop Blake Ellis put Humboldt on the scoreboard with a line-drive single after which he scored from second on an infield error. The Cubs continued taking advantage of pitching and catching miscues before an RBI single by senior catcher Jacob Harrington added two more runs to take the Cubs’ lead to 5-0. Humboldt added four more runs in the fourth on an RBI single by senior outfielder Logan Page, a two-RBI double by senior first baseman Colden Cook and a sacrifice fly ball by sophomore Gavin Gunderman.
Pitching seemed to make the difference in the finale with senior Kyler Isbell racking up eight strikeouts over six innings while allowing only one run on three hits and two walks. As Isbell tired in the waning innings, closer Cole Mathes came to shut down any hopes of a comeback by holding the Blue Streaks hitless while tallying a strikeout in the final frame.
Cook broke the goose egg with an RBI single, then a Gunderman sacrifice fly added another run for a 2-0 lead. Harrington extended the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the sixth inning, followed by a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-0. Humboldt added an insurance run in the seventh inning with a grounder by senior second baseman Mason Sterling.
“It’s good to get back into the swing of things. We’re loaded with seniors, and we really haven’t had them with senior trips and other things going on,” Coach Miller said. “That showed a little in that first game when things got a little tight. We learn from it and move on. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get some of that cleaned up at practice.”
