HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt Cubs seem an unstoppable force heading into the postseason on an eight-game win streak including a 6-1, 5-4 sweep of the Osawatomie Trojans Thursday.
In the opener, senior Cole Mathes rode a four-inning shutout until the Trojans busted the goose egg with an infield error, but Humboldt responded with six unanswered runs to take the victory.
“We took care of business, and that was the most important thing,” Humboldt coach Mike Miller said. “It was a long day for a lot of these guys participating in a track meet going on earlier. They dug down and made things happen. They did not have a lot of juice tonight.”
An RBI single by junior second baseman Mason Sterling put the Cubs on the scoreboard, then picked up both of his RBIs with a single swing before Hanson drove him in, giving the Cubs a 4-1 advantage. Senior catcher Jacob Harrington gave the Cubs a 5-1 advantage with an RBI single, then Humboldt added an insurance run with a sixth inning RBI single.
“I felt great today. It was a great day,” said Humboldt freshman outfielder Kolton Hanson, who tied senior Logan Page for the team lead in RBIs with two each in the opener. “My hitting wasn’t the greatest. My swings weren’t the greatest, but I came through and got a hit, even if it wasn’t the greatest swing.”
In his second appearance after missing multiple games with an injury, senior pitcher Kyler Isbell provided himself a reliable reliever while guiding Humboldt through a dicey situation in the second inning when senior Asher Hart found himself in trouble.
With a runner in scoring position, Isbell picked up the first of his two strikeouts in the first batter he faced, then picked up his last strikeout while securing the victory in the seventh inning.
“It was important to keep pushing it in there, getting strikes and trusting my defense,” Isbell said. “It gives me a bunch of confidence. I feel like I can put it anywhere, and if they hit it, then we can get an out.”
As Isbell guided the Cubs through rough waters defensively, Humboldt rallied to a 4-3 lead in the second by senior first baseman Colden Cook, Page and Sterling. Osawatomie rallied to tie the game 4-4 in the fifth but Hanson responded with his second RBI to plate Mathes for the go-ahead run.
“The most important thing as we come into regionals is getting everybody rolling,” Miller said. “We’ve had nights where the bottom of our order picked up the top and other nights where it has been vice versa. If we can get everybody on all cylinders, we can be tough to beat.”
With the win, the Cubs improve to 18-4 overall and will wait to hear from KSHAA who they will face in the opening round of the regional tournament.
