HUMBOLDT — Grabbing two wins in Tri-Valley League softball play, the Humboldt Cubs swept the Cherryvale Chargers, 12-4, 16-4, on Tuesday evening.
Cubs pitcher Shelby Shaughnessy pitched a gem in Game 1, striking out 15 batters while allowing just two earned runs. Shaughnessy also had six hits in the series.
“Shelby pitched really well and she has been lately,” Humboldt head coach Brad Piley said. “She’s starting to get into her rhythm and hit her spots. The second game got a bit of a rocky start, but we settled down and played some good ball. Shelby is figuring it out with the bat as well.”
Cherryvale held early leads in both games before Humboldt’s floodgates opened.
“We got off to a hot start in both games,” Cherryvale head coach Alex Mese said. “But we had to find a way to add onto it and keep pushing runs across. If we had kept it going, we’re in those games a little more than what we were.”
In Game 2, Cherryvale’s Macie Raida ripped a grand slam on a full count in the top of the first frame.
“She just put a good swing on a good pitch and drove it,” Mese said.
Humboldt responded with eight runs over the next two innings.
“I told the girls that we let them score four runs in the first game and we got them back,” Piley said. “So we just whittled away and started hitting the ball a lot better.”
Skylar Hottenstein had an impressive day at the leadoff spot for the Cubs, posting three runs, five hits and three RBIs.
“She’s really solid,” Piley said. “Most teams we play, if she gets on first, she’s getting to second.”
Humboldt has been red hot as of late, winning five of its last six games. The lone loss came last week to Central Heights, 1-0.
“Even in the game we lost to Central Heights, that was probably the best game Shelby has pitched all year. We just didn’t get the bats going,” Piley said. “But we learned that we need to be more aggressive at the plate.”
Up next
Humboldt, now 14-8 overall, hosts Osage City on Monday.
“We just need to be playing our best ball at the end of the year,” Piley said. “We haven’t gotten there yet. We’ve got to be focused and be mentally tough. That’s my whole thing. If they can be mentally tough, we’ll be tough.”
As for Cherryvale, which is 7-9 overall, it traveled to Eureka on Thursday before heading to Bluestem on Monday.
“We need to go on a run,” Mese said. “Hopefully we can go into regionals on a high note and get some momentum.”
