BURLINGTON — A delayed start to the season had Humboldt High’s baseball squad getting antsy.
“It was nice to finally have the opportunity to play and compete against someone other than our own team,” Cub head coach Mike Miller said.
Humboldt wasted little time in assuming full control in its season opener Tuesday against Burlington, rolling to wins of 18-3 and 15-0.
So dominant was Humboldt that each batter had either a hit, run or RBI — in both games.
The Cubs exploded in the opener for five runs in the first inning, six in the second and fourth in the third to lead 15-1. Humboldt capped its scoring with three more in the top of the fifth.
There was only one trouble spot.
Starting pitcher Grayson Pearish only lasted one-third of an inning.
Miller inserted Nathan Whitcomb in relief because Pearish was experiencing pain in his shoulder.
“Nathan gave us a couple solid innings,” Miller said, and “Austin Beeman was able to finish it for us.”
Doing the damage offensively were Hunter Murrow, two hits, two runs and an RBI, Caleb D’Armond, three runs, Caleb Vanatta, a hit and three runs, Carpenter, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs, Whitcomb, who drove in four RBIs on three hits with three runs, Pearish, who drove in five RBIs with three hits and three runs, Alex Murrow, who had one hit, one RBI and one run, Beeman, who had two hits and an RBI and Kason Siemens, who had two hits, two RBIs and a run.
Whitcomb surrendered a hit in 1 2/3 innings with there strikeouts. Beeman gave up three hits and two walks in three innings. He also had three strikeouts.

ALEX MURROW got the start in the second game. He surrendered two hits and two walks in three scoreless innings.
“Alex had to pitch out of a couple jams, but gave us three really good innings before Nathan closed it for us,” Miller said.
Murrow racked up five strikeouts. Whitcomb struck out all three batters he faced in relief.
Carpenter had two hits, including a double, while Whitcomb singled twice. Hunter Murrow, D’Armond, Beeman, Vanatta, Pearish, Siemens and Corey Whitcomb each had singles.
The Cubs also took advantage of a combined 18 walks in the doubleheader.
“Offensively we really hit the ball hard all the way through our line up in both games,” Miller said. “We had some really good plate appearances to draw walks after falling behind in the count. We want to put as much pressure on the opposing teams as we can with our baserunners and I thought we did a great job of that tonight. Defensively, we had one error all night, which I was pleased with as well.”

TOPEKA — Two members of the Allen County Wrestling Club earned top-six finishes over the weekend to become the first ever members of the club to place at state.
Andrew Garber, sixth, and Trenton Jones, fifth, highlighted a successful weekend at the USA Wrestling Kansas Folkstyle State Championships Friday and Saturday.
Garber placed in the 14-and-under, 165-pound division. Jones took fifth in the 8-and-under, 110-pound group.
“We are so proud of the effort these kids showed this weekend,” coach John Taylor said. “Trenton is only in his second year as a wrestler. Andrew has wrestled for several years and has qualified for state twice.”
Two others shined in their respective competitions.
Seth Sanford brought home a top-12 finish in the 14-and-under, 235-pound division. Curt Shannon took a top-eight finish at 8-and-under, 40 pounds.
“Seth wrestled the best match I have ever seen him wrestle,” Taylor said. “He came up short, but he gave it everything he had.”
Taylor noted Shannon typically wrestled in the 6-and-under division.
“These kids have heart,” Taylor said. “They wanted to win. They gave it everything they could, and we walked out with our heads held high, ready to celebrate our success and learn from our defeat.”
Even with only four wrestlers at state, Allen County took home 112th out of 180 teams.
“We were competing against clubs that had more than 40 wrestlers at the state tournament,” Taylor said. “We are well on our way to becoming a strong force in the wrestling community.”

A rummage sale at the home of Val and Carolyn McLean will benefit efforts to upgrade the Allen Community College baseball team’s clubhouse.
The McLeans are offering up assorted knickknacks and household items starting tonight from 6 to 8 o’clock at 702 S. First St. The sale continues at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
All proceeds from the sale will help pay for recent upgrades to the clubhouse, which includes installing new lockers and benches, paint and carpeting, Carolyn McLean said.

OSAWATOMIE — It’s not much of a sample size yet, but Iola High’s baseball squad has found a familiar — and successful — path to victory.
Just like their season opener nearly three weeks prior, the Mustangs came from behind to capture a hard-fought win in the opening game of their doubleheader against Osawatomie. And just like before, the Mustangs cruised to a sweep in the second game, trouncing the Trojans in the nightcap.
Iola’s 7-6 and 11-2 wins give the Mustangs a 4-0 record following an extended layoff due to spring break followed by persistent bad weather.
“We’ve got some things to work on, but it was good just to get out there and play,” Mustang coach Mark Percy said. “We had some guys hit the ball well, and we got some good pitching performances.”
After assorted rainouts has kept the team from playing or practicing much in recent weeks, the schedule will pick up. Iola has back-to-back doubleheaders scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, which will test the Mustangs’ pitching staff, Percy noted.
“We’ll have to count on some guys who haven’t had a chance to get out and pitch yet,” he said.
Tuesday’s wins shows some are already in mid-season form.
Iola forged ahead 3-0 in the opener. Aaron Barclay singled in a run in the first before Mason Coons pounded an RBI double, then came in to score on Barclay’s single in the third.
Osawatomie responded with four runs in the third to take the lead.
Undaunted, the Mustangs responded with two in the top of the fourth, with a two-run double by Coons, followed by two more in the top of the fifth on Eric Heffern’s single.
Osawatomie scored again in the fifth, then plated one in the seventh before Levi Ashmore induced a pop-out to end the game with the tying run on first.
Coons went 4-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored to lead the way.
Ashmore went 2-for-4 with two runs. Derrick Weir singled, while Barclay had two hits, as did Cole Morrison. Heffern had a single.
Coons picked up the win, giving up four hits and three walks over four innings with five strikeouts. Barclay added two hitless innings of relief. Ashmore got the save, giving up a hit in his inning of work.

THERE WAS no such drama in the nightcap. Iola scored six in the top of the first. Weir’s three-run double was key, as was Barclay’s RBI single that followed.
Weir reached on a walk in the top of the second and scored on Barclay’s double in the second. Weir’s double was prominent in Iola’s three-run third inning, pushing the Mustangs’ lead to 10-1.
Heffern capped the scoring when he reached on an error in the fourth and scored on Trent Latta’s sacrifice fly.
Latta got the win, giving up three hits and two walks in five innings, while racking up 10 strikeouts. Drew Faulhaber pitched two perfect innings in relief, with two more strikeouts.
Barclay went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Weir pounded out two doubles with three runs and three RBIs. Latta went 2-for-3 with a double.
The Mustangs travel to Anderson County for two games Monday and Prairie View for two more Tuesday.