RIVERSIDE

Pitching and defense have been instrumental early on for Highland baseball.

But when nine different players drive in a run in a single game, that makes the Huskies awfully hard to beat.

“It sort of goes both ways,” second-year Highland Coach Allen Rath said after the Huskies routed Wapello, 13-3 in six innings, in a Southeast Iowa Super Conference prep baseball game Friday night at Highland High School. “Hitting is contagious both ways. If somebody starts it, then it sort of goes down the line. We’ve been fortunate.”

The player that typically “starts it” for Highland (8-3, 5-0 SEISC) is senior pitcher/outfielder Logan McFarland. From his leadoff position in the batting lineup, McFarland collected three hits, drove in three runs and scored three times as the Huskies won their eighth game in a row.

“(Coach Rath) trusts me to do whatever I need to to get on base,” McFarland said. “The ultimate goal is to get on base, but he really allows me to feel it out myself and do whatever I need to to get on.”

Through the first nine games of the season, McFarland led the Huskies in batting (.419), hits (13) and runs (14). He has also thrived on the mound, where the left-hander has a 3-0 record and a 1.75 earned run average with two walks and a dozen strikeouts.

“Crafty little lefty,” Rath said. “That is the best way I can say it. … I’m not going to say he is funky, but he has got a little bit of a funky windup and he throws a little harder, a little softer. And he’s got, we call it a ‘little dark horse.’ A little spinner. He keeps people off.”

McFarland pitched all six innings against Wapello (1-9, 1-5) and allowed five hits and three runs with one walk and six strikeouts. The Highland offensive attack staked him to a 5-0 lead after two frames.

“Just getting it across the plate,” McFarland said. “I struggled a little tonight getting it across the plate, but that is all I am going to do all season. Just get it across the plate and have the fielders do their jobs and make the plays they are given.”

Highland tacked on three runs in the fifth inning, then ended the game by extending its lead to 10 runs with a four-run sixth. All nine Huskies in the lineup registered at least one RBI, which allowed McFarland to pitch more freely.

“It makes it a lot easier,” McFarland said. “You just don’t have to worry about anything. You just go out there and throw strikes. … The runs just make you feel so much safer.”

The 8-3 start to the season is the best for Highland since the 2022 group opened its season by winning 15 of its first 16 games. The quick start can likely be attributed to a bevy of returning players, as the Huskies graduated just one senior off last year’s squad.

“I said last year was sort of a learning process,” Rath said. “They are starting to get to know me and vice versa. We have some young guys that played. Tonight might have been the first night that we had a full squad. So we had some of the younger guys that filled in and they played well. We’re starting to click a little bit.”

This week’s rugged road schedule began with a 14-1 loss Monday at Burlington Notre Dame, which halted the Highland win streak at eight games. The Huskies visited West Liberty Tuesday and then travel to Central Lee Thursday before receiving three days off.

“I definitely feel like we are going to need some good pitching,” McFarland said. “Those are some tough teams and they have put up some good scores against other teams in our conference. It will take some good pitching and continuing the good hitting.”