HUMBOLDT — Logan Page struck out 15 batters, Kyler Isbell earned two wins on the mound and the Humboldt Cubs earned two comeback wins to punch their ticket to the KSHSAA 3A Baseball State Tournament on Tuesday.
Humboldt beat Iola, 3-2, in the semifinals of the Class 3A regional tournament before besting the Burlington Wildcats, 6-4, in the championship game.
When Cole Mathes, who earned a one-inning save against Burlington, hurled the final pitch for a strikeout, the senior hoisted his glove to the air and awaited the arrival of dogpiling teammates.
“I didn’t care if they put the bat on the ball, I just knew I had to put that last pitch in the strike zone,” Mathes said. “Once I saw it hit the glove, relief flew over my body. It was a long day. I was hurting. I was ready to go home and ready to keep going next week.”
Page strikes out 15 against Iola
Facing the champions of the Pioneer League in the semifinals, the Cubs overcame an early 2-0 deficit to the Mustangs.
Iola scored two runs, all in the first inning, despite notching one hit in a game that went 10 innings long.
Page walked five batters in the first frame. Over the next six innings of work, he notched 12 of his 15 strikeouts.
“In that first inning, Logan just wasn’t finishing his pitches. We just had to get through it with minimal damage,” Humboldt head coach Mike Miller said. “He settled in and went from there. For him to come out and just shove the rest of the game and get through seven, that’s pretty incredible. Especially against a lineup like Iola has. He gave us the opportunity to stay in that game.”
Humboldt cracked the egg on the scoreboard on a single from Avery Works in the second inning.
The Cubs then tied the game on an RBI groundout from Colden Cook.
Isbell took the hill from Page in the eighth inning and finished out the game for the Cubs.
Miller had initially intended for Page to start Game 1 and hold Isbell for the potential championship game.
“It was win or go home. You don’t leave bullets in the gun,” Miller said. “Kyler is our No. 2 for a reason. So he got us through that game and we dealt with the next one. That’s the thought process through that.”
In the 10th, an error on a batted ball from Mathes that scored Brody Gunderman sent Humboldt to the region title game.
Humboldt perseveres against Wildcats
Isbell, just hours removed from notching the winning decision against Iola, coughed up four runs to Burlington in the top of the second frame.
Despite the early hole, Miller never came out to give the hook.
“They had one hard hit, but we were giving them extra bases on guys not doing the fundamentals in the field,” Miller said. “That’s where they made it hurt. We were close, but I trusted he was going to figure it out and limit the damage.”
Humboldt spent the next three frames chipping away at the lead. The Cubs finally tied, then took the advantage, with three runs in the fourth.
“I was steering the ship and just trying to keep us on course,” Miller said. “It’s easy to think it’s not your day when you get down. And these guys have been guilty of that in the past. But I told the guys that it was exactly what happened last year in the championship game — we got up 5-0 and they came back and beat us. We just had to chip away, keep the pressure up and we were going to win that thing.”
Miller credited a selfless offensive approach for Humboldt’s comeback.
“We had team at-bats,” Miller said. “Every baseball player is guilty of just trying to launch a big home run and look out for themselves. But we had solid, team at-bats. We were locked, battling and put the bat on the ball with a good approach to put the ball in the middle of the field.”
Isbell got through six innings before reaching his pitch-count limit — his final line included three strikeouts, a walk and four earned runs allowed.
“He’s a strike thrower and he attacks the zone,” Miller said. “He threw a 1-0 shutout against them earlier, so Burlington knew what he was. We were just hoping for four innings. And he gave us six. He was special today.”
Mathes had two hits in the game, including the game-tying RBI single.
“We haven’t been a team to come back this year. Or ever,” Mathes said. “Usually, we get up and cruise. But we got it done today. The dugout showed up today. That’s what gets us going. It’s energy, even if it’s annoying energy, it feeds on and feeds on and gets your mind ready to go.”
Isbell also had two hits and an RBI at the plate.
Up next
Humboldt will head to Manhattan for the KSHSAA 3A Baseball State Tournament next week, with the first game scheduled for Thursday. At press time, seedings haven’t been set.
“We’re in the show,” Miller said. “We’ve just got to stay the course. What we’ve done has got us here. Now, anything can happen. We’ll take a few days to celebrate this. But then we’re getting back to work.”
The Humboldt Cubs defeated the Burlington Wildcats, 6-4, on Tuesday evening to win a regional title and earn a bid to the KSHSAA 3A Baseball State Tournament. Sean Frye | Tribune photo
