HUMBOLDT – Unbeaten in the North Central Conference and well on its way the crown, the Humboldt baseball team received its biggest scare inside the league Wednesday night.

Webster City’s most complete effort defensively of the season and a sterling pitching performance from Bryan Ferrell pushed the Wildcats into extra innings, but a bases loaded balk call on Ferrell with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning brought the only run of the game to the plate and Humboldt survived, 1-0.

It was the fourth consecutive loss for WCHS (5-13, 3-7 NCC), but it was also a potential page-turner for a program looking for a spark before the start of the postseason.

“I’m very proud of the way our guys fought,” WCHS head coach Mark Fisher said. “This was finally the energy and togetherness we have been searching for all season. The energy was there from the start, we were engaged and we were battling together.”

Ferrell played the starring role in the Lynx upset bid. The junior right-hander kept Humboldt (17-7, 11-0 NCC) off balance throughout the contest and limited the dangerous lineup to just six hits. The Wildcats teed off for 13 hits in a 19-6, 5-inning rout of the Lynx when the two teams met in Webster City on June 8.

Ferrell finished with two strikeouts and three walks. Two of the free passes were intentional walks called by Fisher.

“Bryan pitched a heck of a game … I can’t say enough about the way he battled and how calm and cool he was on the mound all night against a solid hitting lineup,” Fisher said. “He was just sensational.”

Ferrell’s defense made just one error.

WCHS finished with four hits. Romel Martinez went 2 for 4, while Jordan Tanner and Cole Reigelsberger added singles. The Lynx left six runners stranded on the base paths.

“We got some base runners, moved some guys into scoring position, but we couldn’t get the big hit,” Fisher said.

WCHS will return to its home diamond tonight to take on Iowa Falls-Alden at 7:30 p.m. Fisher says it’s imperative his team not get content after a solid outing.

“We need to not let this one game define us,” he said. “We need to take something away from this game of how we need to approach every night and continue to build and improve from here.”