The Humboldt Lady Cubs look to keep themselves above .500 in the Tri-Valley Conference on the road Thursday against Fredonia.
The Lady Cubs fell to Bluestem 10-5 and 7-4 Monday.
A pair of three-run innings to kick off the opener had Humboldt playing from behind for much of the contest. The Lady Cubs whittled away at Bluestem’s lead with RBIs from junior shortstop Laney Hull, junior second baseman Skylar Hottenstein and sophomore outfielder Lakyn Meadows.
A two-RBI grounder by Hottenstein in the seventh teased a potential rally, but the Lady Cubs could not capitalize. Senior pitcher Shelby Shaughnessy took the loss while tallying six strikeouts over seven innings.
Although a bit more manageable than the opener, a five-run Bluestem first inning made all of the difference. Humboldt pulled within a run with RBIs from Shaughnessy, a Hull homer and doubles by junior pitcher Taevyn Baylor and Meadows, but that was as close to victory as the Lady Cubs could get.
While tying for the team lead in RBIs with one each, Shaughnessy and Hull had a respectable day in the batter’s box with the pair hitting in 3 of 4 appearances. Baylor tallied six strikeouts over seven innings in the losing effort.
The Lady Cubs return to the diamond Thursday against Fredonia. First pitches for the contest are slated for 4:30 and 6 p.m.
