CANEY — With the tying run on third, Humboldt’s Jake Haviland stepped into the batter’s box with a full count and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. A called strike three brought Humboldt’s baseball season to a shocking end against Leon-Bluestem with a 5-4 loss in the semifinals of the Class 3A Regional Tournament Wednesday afternoon.
In the first inning, the Lions got off to a 1-0 lead on an RBI-single sharply hit through the third baseman’s legs. The Cubs struck back in the bottom of the frame when Kason Siemens scored on a wild pitch.
The second inning is when the Lions roared, scoring three runs on singles that managed to find the holes in the Humboldt defense. Nothing was hit hard off pitcher Austin Beeman, but the lead now stood at 4-1. Grayson Pearish was brought in to pitch the next inning to finish the game. He did his job as he held the Lions at bay for the next two innings.
“We just didn’t come through with the key hit,” coach Mike Miller said. “We left a lot of guys on, we had a lot of opportunities. We just needed to find a hole somewhere and we just couldn’t come through with that big one when we needed it.”
One of those key situations came in the fourth inning. Jacob Carpenter drew a leadoff walk. Pearish followed with a single to left field. Haviland next laid down a bunt that was supposed to move the runners over. He did his job and he was safe at first after the pitcher tried to throw out the runner going for second base. With the bases loaded and no one out, it seemed inevitable that the Cubs would rally for the lead in the inning.
After Zach Vanatta struck out, Caleb D’Armond came to the plate. He laid down a bunt. There was a play at the plate as Carpenter slid into home. Dirt surrounded Carpenter and the catcher, who was juggling the ball that the pitcher lobbed to him, forcing his foot off the bag. It looked like Carpenter was safe, which would leave the bases loaded with one out and a run scored. However, the umpire didn’t see it that way and called him out. Now, there were two outs and the score was still 4-1.
“It was a force out, but I don’t think the guy was standing on the base,” Miller said. “He still tagged him, but it was late. (The umpire) said his foot was on home plate. But, whatever, we had other opportunities out there and that’s not what decided the game. It was definitely a big play.”
A wild pitch allowed Corey Whitcomb, a courtesy runner, to come in to score, cutting the lead 4-2. That’s the only run the Cubs would score in the inning. In the fifth inning, the Cubs had the bases loaded again after a Siemens infield single, Caleb Vanatta double and a walk by Carpenter. Pearish’s sacrifice fly to right field scored the only run of the inning. Haviland did get some fans to their feet as he hit a shot out to leftfield but instead of going over the wall, the ball landed in the leftfielder’s glove. The score was now 4-3.
It would all come down to the seventh inning. The Lions added a run in the top half of the frame on a RBI-single, extending the lead to 5-3. That run would become big in the bottom of the frame.
Siemens started off the Cubs seventh inning with a single. Caleb Vanatta hit a ball to the short stop, who juggled it, allowing Vanatta to beat the throw to first. Pearish drew another walk. Same situation, different inning. With the bases loaded and zero outs, it looked like the Cubs were going to not just take a lead, but win the game.
Yet again, another controversy arose on the next play. Pearish hit a fly ball that was caught in right field. A run did score on the play. Vanatta ran for third base while the left fielder threw the ball to the catcher at the pitchers mound. The catcher threw the ball towards third, with dust and dirt flying around again after Vanatta slid. The umpire called him out, the fans did not agree. Now there were two outs with a runner at first base.
That’s when Whitcomb came in to pinch run. He made it to second on a wild pitch. He then stole third base. The winning run was just 90 feet away. But, he wouldn’t score. A called strike three on a full count ended the game and the Cubs season. Humboldt finished the year 18-1. They were undefeated in the regular season.
“We’ve got a lot to be proud of, these seniors have done so much for this program,” Miller said. “The effect that they’ve had on this program is going to be felt for a long time.”
The seniors were apart of two undefeated regular seasons, four league championships in a row and hadn’t lost a league game in three years.
“There’s just so much these guys have done,” Miller said. “They’re going to be missed, but our program is better off with what they’ve contributed.”
