HUMBOLDT — It is almost an embarrassment of riches at this point for Cub coach Brad Piley as his team continues to power through its Tri-Valley League schedule.
The Cubs swept Uniontown in a doubleheader that was originally scheduled to be played in Uniontown, but was moved to Humboldt due to the wet fields in Uniontown. The Cubs won by scores of 8-1 and 14-2.
In game one, junior pitcher Rylan Wilhite provided both the pitching and the offense to drive the Cubs to the 8-1 win.
Wilhite got the scoring started with a three-run home run to left field in the third inning and that offense provided all the run support that she needed.
“Against a pitcher like they have, who throws really slow, it took us a while to slow down to it in the first game,” Humboldt coach Brad Piley said. “We got way ahead and weren’t patient enough to wait for it and hit it solid. Some of our batters didn’t hit well because of the slower pitcher.”
The junior pitched a complete game with three hits allowed, one walk and six strikeouts in route to giving up just one run.
“Rylan pitched really well in our second game against Iola and that carried over to today,” Piley said.
The Cub offense didn’t just settle for Wilhite’s blast though and they were able to post two runs in the fourth and sixth inning and add one more insurance run in the seventh.
Sophomore Morgan Mauk and senior Makaylah McCall each had three hits, including a double, to lead the Humboldt offense.
Seniors Kira McReynolds and Tilar Wells each added a pair of base hits, as did Wilhite, who finished with a team-high four RBIs.
GAME TWO
It was the second game that allowed Piley to truly show off the immense depth that his squad has this season.
With Wilhite needing some rest, he flipped first baseman Sydney Houk and Wilhite in the field and allowed Wilhite to play first base while Houk pitched for just the third time since she was a kid in youth recreational leagues.
“Coming in, I haven’t pitched a lot lately, so I kind of surprised myself, that is for sure,” Houk said. “The nerves were definitely way less this game, because I have already pitched this year.”
All three of those times have come this season as Piley has looked give Wilhite opportunities to rest when possible.
“Rylan had a little bit of a tingle in her forearm after pitching the two games against Iola, but she felt fine today,” Piley said. “I decided that we would just pitch Sydney the second game to get her some throwing in.”
Houk was able to pick up her second victory on the mound this season by pitching all five innings in the 14-2 five-inning game.
The junior allowed two runs on three hits with a hit batter, walk and five strikeouts.
“Sydney pitched well and Rylan made a good dig at first so it worked well,” Piley said.
The Cub offense was quick to give Houk the run support she needed with five runs in the first inning, six more in the second and three in the third.
The bottom half of the order provided the spark for the Cub offense with Wells, Houk and McReynolds each having three hits, including a double from Wells.
Center fielder Mauk, Wilhite, shortstop McCall, right fielder Sydney Barker and catcher Winter Snyder each had two hits with Mauk, Snyder and Barker each having a double to go with a single.
Barker and McReynolds led the Cubs in the RBI department with two a piece.
LEAGUE RACE
After splitting with Leon-Bluestem early in the season, the Cubs have run the table in the Tri-Valley League.
Unfortunately for them, so has Leon-Bluestem.
Both teams sit with one loss a piece heading into the final week of the regular season and will likely be set up to share the league championship.
The Cubs wrap up their regular season on Monday when they host Caney Valley with the title on the line.
“These next two games are going to be big ones,” Houk said. “I guess we will just come out and do our best and do what we do.”
