The Highland Huskies and Wapello Indians faced off June 15 for a late season conference matchup. The Huskies were forced to forfeit the first game of the year against Wapello due to a class-accounting mistake which rostered a player who was not a full-time student, which is against the rules. 

This game was a chance to prove the Huskies are better than their win total suggests, eventually winning 8-4.

Highland senior Peyton Yeggy started on the mound for the Huskies, pitching a solid five innings. He started his night roughly, allowing two on with no outs due to an error and an infield single. He then struck out the side. Quite a rebound.

Yeggy’s curveball deceived Wapello batters all night, seemingly high and dropping into frame the last possible second.

Besides an Ethan Paisley single in the top of the first, the Huskies bats remained slow to start the contest. After another good inning by Yeggy, the bats finally warmed up in the top of the third.

With two out and eighth grader Landon Roling and senior Tyler Thompson on base, Paisley stepped to the plate, clearing the baserunners with a two-RBI double. 

The Wapello Indians wasted no time in the stage of plan and execution, loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third, threatening to not only tie the game, but overtake the reeling Huskies.

Two infield errors, a wild pitch and a walk preceded the bases being loaded, hardly Yeggy’s fault.

With pressure mounted at his back, Yeggy struck out the fourth batter of the inning but gave up an RBI single to the next batter. Now 2-1 with one out, Yeggy struck out another. The last out of the inning was called by the umpire who was a first-hand witness to base running interference, a Wapello runner ran right into the Huskie defender, an illegal move leading to out number three.

Both teams traded quick half innings before the top of the fifth. With two outs, sophomore William Dunbar got on due to an error. This would come back to haunt the Indians. Thompson brought home the sophomore with an RBI double. After Thompson stole third, Paisley rang an RBI single to bring home the fourth run of the night.

Despite a good bottom of the fifth, plans to rest Yeggy were already in motion. The senior went from performing as a closer to a full-time starter, a big shift in pace. 

“Peyton has done a good job for us. He’s a senior pitcher who’s starting for the first time this year, he wasn’t asked to do that,” Highland head coach Seth Milledge said. “He was sort of our closer last year so; he’s really answered the call and has pitched very well for us.”

Sophomore Logan McFarland would score in the top of the sixth after getting hit by a pitch. He advanced to second off of a successful sacrifice bunt by sophomore Ryker Miller and stole third. McFarland then stole home off of a wild pitch. 

Having a superior baserunning gameplan propelled the Huskies over the Indians.

“Our kids, for the most part, are pretty instinctual runners. They’re getting steal signs from me, but they get good jumps, especially the top four [or five] in our order, [they] do a very good job,” Milledge said. 

Freshman Bryce Hazelett took over pitching duties in the bottom of the sixth, following a great Yeggy act.

Hazelett allowed two singles and saw two more fielder choice outs, ending the inning with a line drive.

The Huskies scored three more in the top of the seventh. Insurance they yet knew they needed. Eighth grader Garrett Beeson led off the inning with a walk. He stole second, watching Dunbar force another walk. Thompson brought home Beeson with a single. After a double steal, Paisley drove in his fourth RBI on an infield single. A sacrifice fly brought home Thompson to give the Huskies newfound life, an 8-1 lead heading into the final half-frame.

The Indians would score three, reaching the final score of 8-4. They reached with three singles, scoring with a wild pitch and sacrifice fly. One of the singles brought home a run as well. 

Yeggy had eight strikeouts in his five innings, leading the Huskies in six dominant innings with one hiccup in the end.

The Huskies would follow up their win over Wapello with another win over Winfield-Mt Union 2-1 the following night.

After the wins, the Huskies sit 9-8. They are second in the SEISC-North behind Hillcrest. The Huskies hold a 7-3 conference record. They see two more weeks of regular season baseball left in their immediate future.

Next week, the Huskies will travel to West Burlington on June 21 and Hillcrest on June 22. They’ll return home to face off against Lone Tree on June 23. Then, Highland will play Northeast Community Schools and North Linn at North Linn on June 24. 

They’ll finish their season taking on Sigourney on June 27 at home and BGM on June 28.