A flurry of last-inning comebacks, a dominant-pitching performance, and a walk-off base hit guided Cuba to four wins in six games from April 6 to April 10.

Cuba trounced Viburnum, lost a close game to Valley and blew out Steelville to cap a stretch of three games in four days. Junior Braden Gipson twirled a no-hitter in five innings in the Cats’ victory over Steelville. 

The Wildcats then competed in the 27th annual Linn Tournament on April 10 and 11. Cuba picked up comeback victories over Belle and Linn and fell to Hermann. Despite picking up victories against the eventual first- and second-place finishers, Linn and Belle, Cuba earned the consolation championship because of its loss to Hermann.

The four-win week is monumental for a team that won four games in all of last season. With more than half its games still to be played, Cuba is already having its best season in nearly a decade.

The Wildcats haven’t won more than seven games or had a winning season since 2016-17, when the team won 15 games. The turnaround has been triggered by an infusion of youth and the development of the team’s veterans under head coach Randy Bouse and assistant coach CJ Crader.   

The Wildcats hosted St. Clair on April 14 and are scheduled to play on April 15 in Owensville. Cuba will then host Hermann on April 17 and Belle on April 20 before playing in Sullivan on April 21. All of Cuba’s games from April 14 to April 17 will be detailed in next week’s edition.

Wildcats crush Blue Jays

The Wildcats returned to action to take on the Viburnum Blue Jays after the inclement weather cancelled their scheduled April 2 matchup against St. James. Cuba came out with an aggressive and productive approach at the plate and on the basepaths, scoring two runs in the first, five runs in the second and third innings and two in the fourth to come away with a 14-3 run-rule victory in five innings. Viburnum scored all three of its runs in the fourth inning after the Wildcats built up a 12-0 lead.

Senior Jaspar Silva started on the mound for the Black and Gold and pitched four innings, striking out seven Blue Jays without giving up an earned run in just 59 pitches. All three of Viburnum’s runs were unearned. Freshman Elijah Jesse struck out two batters in a scoreless fifth inning frame to seal the victory.

Five Wildcats recorded at least two base hits and seven stole at least one base. Cuba ran wild on the bases, swiping 11 bags in total throughout the afternoon.

Junior leadoff man Braden Gipson collected three singles, three runs scored, a stolen base and a run batted in. Senior Wyatt McMillian walked, singled, doubled and drove in a run. Fellow senior Adam Doyle singled, scored a run, stole two bases and had a game-high four runs batted in.

Freshmen Aiden Moreland, Carter Medows and Cooper Medows all had two base hits and scored multiple runs. Moreland also stole a base, Cooper Medows swiped two bags and Carter Medows showed rare speed from a catcher to steal three bases.

Senior Cameron Carnal singled, swiped a base, scored twice, and drove in a run and junior Logan McDonald delivered a run-scoring double.

Viburnum had five players collect one base hit and their three runs scored were its highest-scoring output so far this spring after being held to two or fewer runs in each of their first five games.

A junior varsity game wasn’t originally scheduled, but a three-inning game was held following the end of the varsity game. The Wildcats won 6-0 to pick up their second win of the day over the Blue Jays.

Cuba falls in a nail-biter to Valley (Caledonia)

Cuba hosted the Valley (Caledonia) Vikings the following night at Paul Bryan Field. Gipson started on the bump for the Wildcats and hurled three-scoreless innings. Cuba scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI groundout from senior Jaspar Silva. 

The scoring picked up for both teams beginning in the fourth inning. Valley got on the board with two runs in the top of the inning off of Carnal, who replaced Gipson on the mound. The Wildcats responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to regain the lead, highlighted by a solo home run blast to center field from McMillian.

Cuba added one more run in the fifth inning to go up 4-2 heading into the sixth inning. However, that would be the last time the Wildcats would score. The Vikings added two runs in the top of the sixth on a double from junior Blake Gillam to tie the game, before eventually scoring the winning run in the top of the seventh.

The Wildcats were then unable to score a run in the bottom half of the final frame, losing 5-4 in a frustrating game.

Cuba was patient at the plate and active on the base paths, walking 11 times and stealing six bases throughout the matchup. Gipson walked twice, swiped two bases and struck out six Vikings in his three innings on the mound. Carnal struck out six Vikings in two innings of work on the mound and gave up two earned runs. Junior Logan McDonald hurled the final two innings, fanning five Vikings before giving up what turned out to be the game-winning run in the top of the seventh. 

Doyle was Cuba’s lone player to collect multiple base hits. The scrappy senior singled twice and scored one run to spark the Wildcats. McMillian finished with two runs batted in, and a run scored to go along with his second home run of the season. Cuba tallied five hits on the day as freshman Layten Eikermann and sophomore Luke Whittaker each chipped in singles to round out Cuba’s production at the plate. Eikermann, Silva, Cooper and Carter Medows each stole a base in the loss. 

Gillam and senior Keller Loughary each collected a base hit, scored a run at the plate and combined to pitch all seven innings to get the victory for Valley. 

In a junior varsity matchup on April 8, the Wildcats earned an 12-2 victory over Owensville.

Gipson twirls five inning no hitter in Steelville

The Wildcats came ready to play against their Highway 19 neighbor, the Steelville Cardinals. Cuba scored seven runs in the top of the first inning, knocking Steelville starting pitcher Ripken Halbert and reliever Chace Grayson out of the game during the first inning.

That would be plenty of run support for Gipson. The Wildcat’s ace twirled a no-hitter, striking out 11 Cardinals in five innings before the game ended in a 12-0 run-rule victory for Cuba.

At the plate, Gipson was also productive, collecting two base hits, two runs scored and three runs batted in. Doyle went 3-for-3, stole a base, scored twice, and drove in four runs to lead the Wildcats in hits and runs batted in.

Gipson and Doyle provided Cuba’s only base hits, but seven other Wildcats reached base on walks or errors. Carnal walked twice, stole a base, scored twice and drove in a run. Carter Medows walked, drove in a run, and scored once. Moreland walked, stole a base and scored a run. 

Steelville junior Garret Richter walked and Halbert picked up a stolen base after reaching on an error.

McMillian’s walk-off hit gives the Wildcats a win over Belle

Cuba played the following morning in Belle as a part of the 27th annual Linn Tournament. The Wildcats were matched up against the Belle Tigers and were technically the home team. 

The Black and Gold found themselves tangled in a low-scoring pitchers’ duel for the majority of the matchup. After a 30-minute weather delay, Cuba returned to the field. Stifled by Belle senior starting pitcher Chase Trainor, the Wildcats trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh and final inning.

However, the Wildcats showed resilience and quickly flipped the script against Belle relief pitchers Lathan Miller and Ryder Butler. With a pair of base runners on, Carnal laced a double that scored Wyatt Littrell and Cooper Medows and tied the game at two. Two batters later, McMillian roped a single that scored Carnal to give Cuba a thrilling walk-off victory.

Silva worked around a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and settled in to pitch all seven innings for the Wildcats, striking out seven and walking just one to earn the victory. Freshman Carter Medows was Cuba’s lone batter to record multiple hits on the day. The Wildcat’s energetic left-fielder smacked a pair of singles, stole a base and scored a run. Sophomore Luke Whittaker, McDonald and Carter Medows all singled before Carnal and McMillian’s heroics shone bright.

Trainor pitched six scoreless innings, striking out eight Wildcats before being pulled before Cuba’s seventh inning comeback. Hank Stratman and Miller each had two base hits for the Tigers in the loss.

Cats get shut out by Hermann

Cuba played just two minutes after their thrilling victory over Belle and looked to be physically and emotionally fatigued. Hermann scored three runs in the first and third innings and added one run in the sixth. The Wildcats were held scoreless and fell 7-0 in seven innings.

Gipson collected both of Cuba’s base hits in the game on a pair of singles. Eikermann, McDonald and Carter Medows walked as the Wildcats’ only other base runners.

Carnal started on the mound and pitched 2 ⅔ innings, striking out six before being pulled. Carnal gave up six runs, but just one of those runs was earned due to sloppy defense behind him. Freshman Elijah Jesse hurled 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief before McDonald pitched the final inning and allowed one run.

Cardiac Cats snatch thrilling seventh-inning comeback victory

The Wildcats played the following morning against Linn in the consolation finals of the Linn Tournament. The matchup was a back-and-forth affair where each team exchanged leads. Cuba went up 3-0 and 4-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth before Linn responded with five-straight runs throughout the next few innings to take a 6-4 lead heading into the seventh and final inning.

The comeback Cats erupted for five runs in the final inning, highlighted by a McDonald two-run double to flip its two-point deficit to a 9-6 lead.

Doyle, who was in his third inning of relief, pitched a scoreless frame to seal the victory for the Wildcats. He finished with three strikeouts and threw an efficient 35 pitches to get the win.

Gipson picked up another multi-hit game, this time collecting three singles, one run batted in, three stolen bases and two runs scored. Doyle and McDonald each doubled and picked up two hits and Whittaker reached base three times, scored and drove in a run.

The freshman, Eikermann, started his first career varsity game and gave up just two earned runs, striking out nine batters in four innings of work.