HUMBOLDT — Humboldt could have made a case for its entire team to be the first-team All-League squad this season considering how they rolled through the Tri-Valley League on the way to an undefeated regular season.
The Cubs settled though for three spots on the All-League first-team with pitcher Courtney Richey, catcher Makayla McCall and shortstop Rylan Wilhite getting the spots at arguably the three most important positions on the diamond.
Richey, a senior, went 15-1 this season with 145 strikeouts. She also hit .667 with seven home runs and 37 steals.
McCall, a junior, hit .615 with 34 RBIs and four home runs.
Wilhite, a sophomore, was 6-0 pitching, but made her biggest contributions as a shortstop. She hit .543 and had 43 RBIs.
The other two spots of the Cub defense up-the-middle were represented as honorable mention selections: second baseman Tilar Wells and center fielder Hannah Hulett.
Huelett, another senior, hit .537 with 22 steals. Wells hit .333 on the season.
“Everybody’s strength of their defense should be up-the-middle,” Piley said. “That is where we were very strong.”
Richey and Hulett graduated this season and will leave big holes in both the Cub defense and batting order.
“Every aspect of Courtney’s game is strong with her offense, defense and batting,” Piley said. “Hannah, for someone who didn’t play in over a year, came back and didn’t miss a beat for us. Anybody who bats over .500 is awesome.”
Piley is confident that the team has the pieces to build another very good team next year however and those pieces start with McCall and Wilhite.
“It is nice to have that kind of experience back,” Piley said. “Both of them have been starters since they were freshmen.”
Considering the season the team enjoyed, Piley was surprised that freshman Morgan Mauk did not get recognized by the league this season. The Cub leadoff hitter will have three more seasons to showcase her talents to league coaches.
“There was only one other person (other than Humboldt players) in our league that had a batting average over .500,” Piley said. “She led the league with 48 stolen bases.”
“With her slapping, if she just got the ball down anywhere on the left side of the infield, she was going to get a hit.”
The All-State softball teams have yet to be released, but Piley is confident that Richey will again earn a spot on the team and believes that McCall will have a very good chance of being selected as well.
Richey will continue her softball career at Neosho County Community College next year with the hopes of transferring to a four-year school after her time in Chanute.
