Photo by Rick Thompson: Keegan Groat slides for Humboldt against St. Edmond on Friday night.

HUMBOLDT — There was no letting up for the Humboldt baseball team here on Friday night, as the Wildcats remained perfect in North Central Conference play with another dominant performance.

A four-run first inning and seven more in the third was more than enough as Humboldt defeated St. Edmond by a final of 16-1 in four innings. The victory moves the Wildcats to 12-2 overall and 5-0 in the NCC, as the squad’s win streak reached eight games.

The Gaels, meanwhile, struggled in the field ahead of their Monday trip to the Field of Dreams. Head coach Mike Szalat’s ballclub committed seven errors and allowed six unearned runs.

“You just can’t give a quality team like Humboldt extra outs — or any team, for that matter,” Szalat said. “They’re an excellent program and they don’t need our help.

“We haven’t been hitting the ball better, and I thought were better with our at-bats (Friday), but we took major steps back defensively. When you aren’t good in one facet of the game, especially on the road, you really don’t give yourself a chance.”

Evan Hatcher went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the Wildcats, who needed only eight hits — all singles — to plate their 16 runs. Joshua Thurm scored three times, with Trever Beach, Corey Dettmann, Jayden Gargano and Isaiah Busick all crossing home twice.

Gargano struck out four and allowed only a single unearned run.

The Gaels (2-7) now turn their attention to Dyersville. They’ll be squaring off with NCC foe Clarion-Goldfield/Dows (3-13) at 7 p.m. at the Field of Dreams complex.

“We want to make it a positive experience for the guys and get as many kids in the game as we can,” Szalat said. “With that being said, we need a win. We want to enjoy it, but we have to find a way to get back on track and take care of business.

“What better place to do it than at the Field of Dreams?”

Humboldt is at Iowa Falls-Alden on Monday.

HUMBOLDT 16, ST. EDMOND 1 (4)

St. Edmond 001 0 — 1 2 7

Humboldt 429 1 — 16 8 1

WP–Jayden Gargano (4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K).