HUMBOLDT — The cruel nature of postseason softball, where the slightest lapse can sink a season’s worth of dreams, did in Humboldt High Monday.
The Lady Cubs, in a wild back-and-forth affair with Conway Springs, saw both teams trade momentum swings in the late innings before the visiting Cardinals took advantage of four Lady Cub errors in extra innings.
Conway Springs scored three times to break a 6-6 deadlock to win, 9-6.
The loss, in the opening round of the Class 3A Regional Tournament, ended Humboldt’s season at 14-10. Conway Springs advances to Wednesday’s semifinal round against tournament host Trinity Academy in Wichita. The winner faces either Iola or Bluestem in the championship game with a berth in next week’s state tournament on the line.
THINGS WERE GOING swimmingly for Humboldt in the early going. Ryan Covey got the Lady Cubs on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the second, followed by Carly Weilert’s run-scoring single for a 2-0 lead.
Kamry De La Torre got into the act with an RBI single in the third, making it 3-0.
Meanwhile, Humboldt starting pitcher Shelby Shaughnessy held Conway Springs scoreless through the first four innings.
But that changed in a hurry.
The Cardinals rallied with one out in the fifth, with three singles, a walk and an error to knot the score at 3-3 before scoring the go-head run on a passed ball.
Humboldt evened the proceedings at 4-4 after Taevyn Baylor singled and scored on Hadley Galloway’s sacrifice fly.
Conway Springs scored twice more on a two-run double from Reece Johnson in the sixth.
Humboldt answered promptly with RBI singles from Skylar Hottenstein and Shaughnessy in the bottom of the inning to knot the proceedings at 6-6.
Shaughnessy retired Conway Springs in order in the top of the seventh, and Humboldt threatened to end it in walk-off fashion after De La Torre walked and Weilert singled to put runners on first and second. But a strikeout ended the rally.
The Cardinals loaded the bases on three consecutive errors to start the fateful eighth.
Brooke Beck singled in a pair of runs before a fourth error with two outs allowed a third run to score.
