By: Matt Scher, matts@977thebolt.com
Algona, IA – The Humboldt Wildcats overcame an early deficit with a five-run fourth inning and leaned on dominant relief pitching to defeat Algona 8-5 Friday night in the opening round of the Class 3A Substate 2 bracket.
Humboldt (21-8) advances to Monday’s substate semifinal at No. 9 (3A) Waverly-Shell Rock against the 24-6 Go-Hawks, who defeated Nevada 5-2 Friday.
The Wildcats struck first in the opening inning when Griffin Groat raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run, giving Humboldt a 1-0 lead. The inside-the-park homerun was Humboldt’s 22nd homerun of the year, pacing Class 3A.
Algona answered with single runs in the first and second innings to move in front 2-1 before Humboldt’s offense broke through in the fourth.
The Wildcats sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run inning, reclaiming the lead for good. Caden Fredin delivered the go-ahead RBI single during the rally, while Jaxson Kichhoff added a two-RBI single.
Algona trimmed the deficit with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Humboldt responded immediately with two insurance runs in the fifth to maintain control.
Valley Davis started on the mound for Humboldt, pitching 3 1/3 innings. He allowed five runs, two earned, on six hits while striking out three.
Grant Goodell was outstanding in relief, tossing 2 2/3 hitless innings with four strikeouts to earn the victory. Chase Hansen closed the game with a scoreless seventh, striking out two.
Groat led the Wildcats offensively, finishing 3-for-3 with an inside-the-park home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Avyon Sutterfield added two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Jackson Flaherty collected two hits and an RBI, while Dane Clark doubled. Fredin and Kirchhoff each drove in key runs during Humboldt’s decisive middle innings.
After the game, Humboldt head coach Jason Thurm credited his team’s ability to settle in after a nervous start.
“Offense got clicking there, and I felt like maybe early on nerves were getting the best of us,” Thurm said. “I feel like we’ve got a great defensive team, and the numbers back that up. I think we were a little nervous coming out of the gate there and gave up a few freebies. But the second time through the order we settled in, put up that five spot, and that was huge.”
Thurm said he believes Humboldt’s offense gives the Wildcats confidence against any opponent.
“I just feel like we’ve got so much confidence in our bats and offense. If we can keep it close, we can pretty much be there with anybody and give ourselves a chance.”
Looking ahead to Monday’s semifinal at Waverly-Shell Rock, Thurm said the focus will remain on Humboldt’s own execution.
“We don’t know a lot about them. We’ll try to put a little scouting report together over the weekend, but it’s us just taking care of ourselves, executing pitches, pounding the strike zone, making plays behind our pitchers and grinding out at-bats like we’ve been doing all year long. We’ve got confidence in ourselves. If we show up and we’re ready to go, we feel like we can play with anybody.”
On the opposite side of the bracket, top-seeded North Polk defeated Hampton-Dumont/CAL 17-0 in four innings, while Gilbert blanked Webster City 10-0 in five innings. Those two teams will meet in the other semifinal Monday night.
The winners of Monday’s semifinal games advance to Wednesday’s Class 3A Substate 2 championship game with a trip to the state tournament on the line.