After finishing third in the Class 3A State Softball Tournament, Humboldt was bound to have representatives on the Tri-Valley All-League team. The Lady Cubs had five players earn honors.
Meanwhile, Yates Center High’s softball team, which also advanced to the state tournament in Class 2-1A, had two players receive postseason recognition.
Humboldt finished the season 25-1, its only loss coming in the state semi-finals in extra innings.
Pitching ace Courtney Richey’s all-league arm earned her an overall record of 19-1. Richey will still have two more years of high school softball to play. Out of the 379 batters she faced, she struck out 175 and only walked 9. She also posted a 0.75 ERA. Richey’s prowess at the plate also was solid, posting a .588 batting average with eight home runs from the clean-up spot.
Leadoff hitter Breanna Kline did her duty of getting on base, leading the team with a .647 batting average. She had many quality at-bats this season, as she only struck out one time all year. She hit four home runs and had 39 RBIs. Kline, a rising senior, will be back for one more season as the starting short-stop.
Mallory Roush, the starting center fielder kept her own in the batter’s box. She hit two homers and had 28 RBIs with a .456 batting average. Roush, a rising senior, will have one more season of running down fly balls in center field before she graduate.
Delaney Umholtz held down right field. Umholtz not only used her speed to run down fly balls, she used it to steal 26 bases on the season. Umholtz, senior, could also hit a little bit, posting a .403 batting average with four home runs and 17 RBIs.
Kayle Riebel had the fifth spot in the batting order, hitting behind Richey for most of the yea. The starting first basemanl hit .515, also smacking two home runs with 41 RBIs. Riebel played her final game of her high school career during the third place game of the state tournament.
Coach Brad Piley is optimistic about next year. He only had three seniors on this past season’s roster.
“The whole core’s returning,” Piley said. “I’ve also got some young girls coming up. We are going to have a lot of seniors next year and that’s usually when a team does well in the state tournament with all that experience.”
Riebel and starting catcher Morgan Morris are the only starters not returning.
AT 18-5, Yates Center had two players, Aubrey Smith and Courtney Arell, bring home honors.
Smith was named to the All-Pioneer League team. Arell received honorable mention.
Smith was on the mound for all but one of the 109 innings in which Yates Center played defense. Her 18-5 record featured a 2.01 ERA.
She racked up 144 strikeouts in 108 innings, while walking only 9.
