HUMBOLDT — With freshman pitcher Reagan Lee sidelined with a shoulder injury, potentially for the rest of the season, it’s no secret that five-time defending North Central Conference champion Humboldt currently has issues inside the circle.

But the Wildcats can still hit. They’re still dangerous. And they’re not a team to be taken lightly.

Which is precisely why league leader Webster City was locked in from the first pitch during Wednesday’s showdown.

The Lynx (12-6, 7-1 NCC) jumped on Humboldt in the opening inning, keyed by a Livia Kasch two-run home run, and never let their foot off the gas en route to an 11-4 victory. It was their first win over the Wildcats since June 13, 2018, and snapped a string of four consecutive losses in the series.

“Their lineup is dangerous one through nine and they can put girls on, so our girl were aggressive early to set the tone,” WCHS head coach Jess Howard said.

Humboldt (8-7, 3-4 NCC) lost its sixth straight contest. With Lee in the circle, the Wildcats were 8-1 early in the season.

WCHS rattled off six hits, four of which went for extra bases, and took advantage of nine walks to pull away. Seven of the free passes came in the sixth and seventh innings when the Lynx reeled off eight runs to put the game out of reach.

But it was that first inning that put everything in motion.

Kasch’s dinger, her second in the last five days and the second of her career, put WCHS in front 2-0. Jenna Miller followed her with a double, and Alayna Finucan increased the lead to 3-0 with her own RBI double moments later.

“(Kasch) is doing a good job of selecting her pitches and driving all the way through the ball,” Howard said. “She’s always packed a big punch with her swing, and she’s continuing to improve.”

With the lead, Howard opted to pitch around Humboldt slugger Kendal Clark on two occasions, and the Lynx limited fellow first-team all-conference stick Jori Hajek to no hits and a single RBI.

Humboldt finally got to WCHS freshman hurler Delainey Bargfrede in the sixth inning, as Rylee Coyle bashed a two-run home run to get the Wildcats to within 7-4.

But the Lynx have one comfort not afforded to Humboldt — a deep pitching staff. Miller came on in relief and silenced the Wildcat bats the remainder of the way.

“We’re really lucky that we had two pitchers that could throw,” Howard said. “They’re both doing a great job of understanding their roles and helping us win games.”

Bargfrede walked four and struck out six over 52⁄3 innings of work. Miller went 11⁄3 and surrendered nothing with one strikeout.

Miller finished 2 for 4 at the dish with a pair of doubles. Adeline Tesdahl roped an RBI single during the Lynx four-run sixth inning, and Trinity Griffith also found a hole for a base hit.

Finucan was responsible for three of the Lynx six stolen bases in the contest. Cloe Savitski had two, and the eighth grader pushed her season total to 38 — the most in the state regardless of class.

Clark, Coyle, Macey Varangkounh and Alexis Hansen all had two hits for Humboldt, which likely saw its chances of winning a sixth consecutive conference championship evaporate with the latest loss.

WCHS finds itself in an enviable position as it heads into the second half of the league season, but Howard says her players aren’t looking ahead.

“Our goal every time we step onto the field is to win,” she said. “The girls are taking it one game at a time.”

WCHS will step outside of the conference to take part in the Martensdale St. Mary’s tournament on Saturday. The Lynx will take on AHSTW at 9 a.m., No. 8-ranked (Class 1A) MSM at 10:45 a.m., and Essex at 2:15 p.m.

WCHS 11, Humboldt 4

Wednesday at Humboldt

WCHS 300 004 4 — 11 6 1

HUM 000 013 0 — 4 9 2

Delainey Bargfrede, Jenna Miller (6) and Kelly Stoakes. Elsie Hubbell, Addie Thompson (6), Kendal Clark (7) and Macey Varangkounh. W — Bargfrede. L — Hubbell. Multiple hits — WC: Miller; HUM: Clark, Varangkounh, Alexis Hansen, Rylee Coyle. 2B — WC: Miller (2), Alayna Finucan; HUM: Hansen. HR — WC: Livia Kasch; HUM: Coyle. RBI — WC: Li. Kasch (2), Finucan, Adeline Tesdahl; HUM: Coyle (2), Hubbell, Jori Hajek.