HUMBOLDT — For years, Iola High and Humboldt High’s softball coaches had been hoping to see their teams square off more frequently, but with league and regional schedules getting higher priority, those opportunities have been slim.
This year’s new allowance for each team to play an additional six games a season gave the teams a chance to show what their fans have been missing.
A tense, back-and-forth thriller came down to the final pitch Friday, before Humboldt’s Laney Hull drilled an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to give the Lady Cubs a walk-off, 9-8 victory.
The Lady Cubs didn’t wait as long to rally in the second game of their doubleheader, coming back from a 6-1 deficit to complete the sweep with a 17-7 victory.
“We fought back and never gave up,” Humboldt head coach Brad Piley said. “We gave away some outs, but they did, too. It was a heck of a win to come back. It was an exciting game.”
The seventh inning of game one was a story unto itself.
Humboldt had overcome an early 4-1 deficit with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to lead, 5-4, going into the final frame.
Elza Clift and Harper Desmarteau each singled with one out, putting runners on first and third.
Piley opted against pitching to the Mustangs’ freshman phenom Zoie Hesse, ordering an intentional walk to load the bases.
Iola made sure the strategy backfired. Kaysin Crusinbery worked a walk to force in a run and tie the score, and Kyndal Bycroft’s single to center pushed the Mustangs ahead, 7-5. Kinsey Schinstock followed with a shot down the first base line that turned into a Lady Cub error, making it 8-5.
But Humboldt pitcher Taevyn Baylor mitigated further damage, striking out the final two batters of the frame to keep the margin at three.
The Lady Cubs didn’t waste any time to make up the difference.
Shelby Shaughnessy lined a single, Baylor walked on four pitches and Chanlynn Wrestler’s grounder to second brought Shaughnessy home. A Mustang error put runners on second and third, leading to Kamry De La Torre’s RBI single, making it 8-7.
Carlie Weilert tied the score at eight apiece with her hard grounder leading to a Mustang error, setting the stage for Hull’s game-winner.
“We played really well in Game 1, and had great flashes, but we also gave them extra outs,” Iola head coach Chris Weide said. “You can’t do that against good teams. The girls played hard and competed. We’ve just got to tighten it up on defense.”
