HUMBOLDT — Makaylah McCall, Tilar Wells and Kira McReynolds have never known anything but winning the Tri-Valley League softball title and they weren’t going to let that end this year.
The Cubs wrapped up their fourth-straight league championship on Monday with 17-1 and 10-0 victories over Caney Valley.
“It is a big accomplishment,” Humboldt coach Brad Piley said. “They have each played four years for me and they have been a part of winning it all four years. They have only missed going to state one year and hopefully we go back this year.”
The Cubs thoroughly and utterly dismantled the Bullpups in game one’s 17-1 blowout that ended after the top of the second, but really ended much sooner than that.
After Caney Valley opened up the scoring in the top of the first inning by scoring on an error, the Cubs answered back with eight runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Wells came up with a big two-run double to give the Cubs the lead at 3-1.
The most memorable event happened off the field when a scalding foul ball caught Coach Piley right above the knee.
Piley laughed it off and the crowd got a good chuckle at the veteran coach’s misfortune.
Then it was back to business.
With the bases loaded and two outs, freshman Winter Snyder tripled to left field to clear the bases.
The second inning got out of hand even quicker for the overwhelmed Bullpup pitchers when 12 Humboldt batters reached base. With the score 17-1 and the bases loaded, the Cubs showed mercy and all three runners left their bases before the Bullpups pitched — leadoffs are illegal — resulting in the Cubs recording their three outs.
“We have clicked all season,” Wells said of the offense. “We have had some ups and downs, but we keep pushing. We will be good as long as we keep our heads where they need to be.”
A quick shutout inning by junior Rylan Wilhite who allowed two hits in three innings, ended the game at 17-1.
The second game was slightly less lopsided, but the Cubs still managed to end it early with a 14-0 decision after five innings.
The Cubs broke out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning when Morgan Mauk, Snyder, Wilhite, McCall and Wells had five-consecutive singles to begin the game.
After a scoreless second inning, the Cubs got their offense back rolling in the third with Wells and McCall each scoring again.
The Cubs got the margin they needed for a five-inning victory in the fourth inning when a McReynolds single scored Sydney Houk to cap a four-run inning.
McReynolds joined the lineup full-time when sophomore Aricah McCall broke her ankle early in the season and she says the consistent at-bats have helped her find a groove late in the year.
“It is more of a routine,” McReynolds said. “It is more natural now.”
Wilhite finished off the three-hitter with a perfect fifth inning to seal the game.
Wilhite also hit a home run in the fourth inning.
The Cubs leading hitter was Mauk who went 3-for-3 and reached base all six times she came to the plate in the doubleheader.
“It should be good,” Mauk said of her slap-hitting approach. “It has been good lately, so hopefully it stays like that for regionals.”
Now with the league title in tow, Humboldt will set its sights on going to state in a third sport this season.
The Cubs have advanced to the state tournament in volleyball and basketball already and the softball team will enter the regional tournament as heavy favorites to do it on the softball diamond.
“I don’t think that has ever happened before here,” Piley said. “They did a great thing getting it in volleyball and basketball and we want it in softball too… The other thing I told them is to remember how it felt last year when (we lost in regionals), you don’t want this to happen to us again.”
The players are embracing that challenge.
“We all really want it,” Mauk said. “Hopefully it will happen.”
Wells, the only senior who has been on all three teams, is excited for the opportunity.
“I want it really bad,” Wells said. “We have made state a couple times (in softball), but we’ve never really made it where we want to be at the end. It would be really sweet to go in all three sports in my senior year.”
UP NEXT
Humboldt will host the regional tournament on next Tuesday and Thursday.
Northeast Arma, Erie, Eureka, Jayhawk Linn/Pleasanton, West Franklin and Central Heights will all be looking to end the Cubs’ season.
