HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt Lady Cubs took Tuesday’s Battle of Allen County after sweeping the Iola Mustangs 12-8 and 8-6.
With both teams boasting strong pitching coming into the contests, a low-scoring affair seemed in order, but the teams provided plenty of fireworks with multiple homeruns and more than 30 combined runs on the scoreboard.
“That was a good game, a real war in Allen County,” Humboldt coach Brad Piley said.
An RBI grounder by Iola junior outfielder Brooklyn Holloway put Iola on the scoreboard in the opening frame.
Humboldt shortstop Laney Hull responded with an RBI single in her first at-bat. The Lady Cubs took the 4-1 lead on an RBI grounder by junior outfielder Lakyn Meadows and reached home twice on wild pitches.
“I was just reading the ball well (in the field) and seeing where it came off on the bat,” Hull said. “I just had to sit back and wait for a pitch. We also had a few girls like Lakyn (Meadows) who had a home run and some good hits.”
Iola rallied to within a run after a two-run homer by freshman Jayna Ivy, her first career home run.
Humboldt responded with three runs off a two-RBI single by junior outfielder Hadley Galloway and an RBI single by junior first baseman Kinley Hart. The game continued to be a back-and-forth affair until the Humboldt put Iola out of commission with a four-run sixth inning.
“We did a good job at the plate, and our pitching was pretty good, but our defense let us down,” Iola coach Chris Weide said. “We did some good things, but I’m not much on moral victories. We’re better than that.”
Humboldt junior pitcher Jo Ellison picked up the win and four strikeouts. Iola freshman Haidyn Desmarteau took the loss with three strikeouts. Both pitchers came on in relief during the finale where Desmarteau added another four strikeouts to her total and Ellison added two more.
Galloway ended the opener with a team-leading three RBIs, followed by Hull with two. Junior third baseman Lakyn Meadows tied Galloway for the team lead in hits with two each.
“I’m hitting good this year, and I just sat back and waited for it tonight,” Galloway said. “I like fast pitchers. With this one, I hit her pretty good. It was nice.”
Desmarteau tied freshman first baseman Breighlyn Rutherford in hits with 2 of 4 at-bats. Desmarteau was also Iola’s most productive hitter with a team-leading three RBIs.
Iola made the second game a much tighter affair, but a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings allowed the Lady Cubs to hold on.
Iola scored six runs in the first two innings, including homeruns from Rutherford and senior outfielder Faith Warden, which was Warden’s first career home run.
“I just used what I’ve been practicing,” Warden said. “Coach Weide has been giving me a lot of tips. I finally put it all together. I waited and let it rip.”
