HUMBOLDT — A day filled with high-leverage situations looked to be tilting in Humboldt High’s favor in the Cubs’ quest to return to the state baseball tournament.
After a wild back-and-forth regional semifinal victory over Anderson County — in true “walk-off” fashion — Humboldt had seized control early against Burlington in the championship game.
The Cubs broke through against Burlington’s ace pitcher and had taken a 5-0 lead.
But the relentless Wildcat offense responded.
Burlington chipped away at the lead, scoring two in the fourth and one in the fifth, setting the stage for a sixth-inning eruption that sank Humboldt’s promising 2024 season.
Burlington scored six in the frame to take the lead for good, and then tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to win, 11-5.
The victory denied Humboldt’s chance to return to the Class 3A State Tournament in Manhattan.
“It hurts not to achieve our goal of getting back to the state tournament,” Cub head coach Mike Miller said. “I hurt for the kids. They put a lot into this season.”
In a game littered with bang-bang plays, a pair at the top of the sixth proved fatal for the Cubs’ chances.
The Cubs led 5-3 when Burlington’s Brody Garland reached base to lead off the frame after Humboldt first baseman Colden Cook had to come off the bag to field a throw. Garland reached the base a split second before Cook was able to tap it with his glove. The Wildcats’ Maddux Cheever followed with a sacrifice bunt attempt that turned into a single when the first-base umpire ruled he beat the throw.
Humboldt pitcher Kyler Isbell slowed the momentum with a strikeout, but another Cub fielding error — they committed five in the contest — loaded the bases for Kolten Robinson, who tied the game with a two-run single. Hunter Reiling greeted relief pitcher Sam Hull with an RBI single to push the Wildcats on top. A passed ball to the next batter brought home a seventh run. Landen Ernst followed with an RBI grounder before Mickey Carlson capped the rally with a run-scoring single.
“That’s a good baseball team,” Miller said. “They put pressure on you. They don’t strike out a lot, they put the ball in play, and they make things happen.
“I don’t know how many plays there were where the ball would just glance off our gloves, diving plays, things where we could have knocked the ball down to save a run or make an out. Things just kind of went their way.”
The early going was more to Humboldt’s liking.
Mason Sterling’s one-out single in the bottom of the second got things started against Carlson, who had thrown a complete-game no-hitter against the Cubs the last time the teams played April 11. Sterling took advantage of a Wildcat error, advancing to third base, where he scored easily on Isbell’s sacrifice fly to left.
