HUMBOLDT — Monday’s doubleheader between Leon-Bluestem and Humboldt could be just the first installment in a season-long battle for supremacy in the Tri-Valley League.
“Those are regional championship type games,” Humbolt coach Mike Miller. “For us to pick up the split, I’ll take it.”
Both clubs are top contenders for the league crown this season and if Monday’s results are any indication, pitching is going to set the tone for the entire league race.
In the first game of the evening, the two squads battled to a scoreless tie through five and a half innings of play, but a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth off Humboldt senior Daylon Splane gave the Lions all the margin they needed.
“He got ahead of that kid and we had two strikes on him,” Miller said. “But we had a little miscommunication between the catcher and myself about what we wanted to throw. That is on me, I’ll take the blame for that, but it wasn’t the pitch I wanted and the kid put a barrel on it and hit it well.”
Humboldt scratched out two hits in the top of the seventh but it didn’t result in any runs as the Cubs fell 2-0 in game one.
Despite the loss, Miller was impressed with the way Splane threw the ball.
“He pitched a great game,” Miller said. “I haven’t seen him throw a game quite like that, especially this early in the season.”
Splane threw six innings and allowed just three hits and walked five while striking out eight.
In game two, Humboldt was afforded a luxury that few team’s have. They trotted out their second senior ace of the day and leaned on Rayce Hoepker to salvage the split against the Lions.
“He was cruising through five innings with less than 50 pitches,” Miller said. “That is one of the best games I’ve seen him throw. He kept them off balance and threw strikes.”
The senior threw all seven innings and didn’t allow an earned run while giving up just three hits and three walks.
“I was throwing strikes and trusting the defense,” Hoepker said. “I was pretty much just letting them hit it. My defense did most of it tonight.”
The Cubs were also able to provide Hoepker with the run support that was lacking in Splane’s start, thanks in large part to the aforementioned Splane.
With two runners on in the third inning, Splane laced a double over the left fielder’s head to open the scoring.
Humboldt added an insurance run in the top of the sixth when Josh Vanetta grounded out, but Wyatt Seufert was able to score on the play to give Humboldt a 2-0 advantage.
That run proved valuable when a passed ball allowed a run to score in the bottom of the sixth to tighten the game back up.
Hoepker was able to hold the damage to just one run, however, and the Cubs escaped with a 2-1 win and a series split with the Lions.
The offense is still a concern for the Cubs as they managed just six total hits between the two games, but the stellar pitching from Bluestem certainly played into that.
“A lot of it is about approach right now,” Miller said. “Their pitchers are filling up the zone and throwing strikes and we are watching first pitch fastballs down the middle. It is about having the mindset to be ready to hit.”
Although it is just four games into the season, it is never to early to look at league races and at the end of the year, Humboldt’s game two victory could be the difference between a league championship or a runner-up showing.
“It was big to get the split, because when it comes down to it, that is probably the league championship,” Hoepker said. “That was a big game.”
UP NEXT
The Cubs will welcome Eureka to the Humboldt Sports Complex next Monday for a doubleheader.
