SOFTBALL

The HU softball team upped its win streak over Bethel College (1-9, 0-2) to 16 straight with two dubs, 2-1, 11-0, Saturday afternoon at Gardner Field. Huntington remains perfect in league play having beaten Goshen twice yesterday as they improve to 5-5 overall, 4-0 in Crossroads League action.

Runs in the opener were few and far between. Huntington posted nine hits, six for extra bases, and used up four in the top of the second to plate both their runs. Karley Blankenship logged HU’s first hit, a two-bagger to left, after which Kennedy Krull followed suit, except to the opposite side of the field, to drive in Blankenship.

Krull then made her way to third by way of Marty Harris’ infield single and came around to score on Mallory West’s base poke to left for a 2-0 advantage after two. Mackenzie Orphanidis got one back for the Pilots in the fourth by blasting her second pitch over the center field fence for an otherwise dormant BC offense.

Aside from Orphanidis’ dinger, the Bethel managed just two hits. Only two baserunners ever made it past first base with HU’s pitching and solid defense to blame.

Lairen Miller spent the entire contest on the hill where she scattered three hits and a run for the complete-game win. She struck out seven and didn’t hand out any free passes while her teammates backed her up with error-free defense.

West and Blankenship each finished 2-for-3 at the plate to pace the Foresters offensively.

Gower’s crew found their swing in the nightcap by erupting for 11 runs while keeping the Pilots off the board for their first shutout of the season in a game cut short by two frames.

Pitching was again on point for the Foresters with Meghan Fretz picking up the win to improve to 3-0 on the season. She tossed the first three frames and gave up just one hit and four walks while striking out one after which West offered two innings of hitless scoreless relief.

Huntington opened up a 4-0 lead after two frames and then blew open the game in the third by batting around to the tune of six runs to set in motion the mercy rule after five. After three straight singles, Paige Eichelberger added a fourth to knock in the frame’s first run.

With bases still loaded, Ashley Brown earned an RBI by drawing a walk. Krull did too with a run-scoring single to second after which Sophia Beachy knocked in two with a shot to left. Casey Lehman wrapped things up with an RBI-ground out for the final run of the inning.

It was Lehman’s second RBI of the day with her first coming in the opening frame when she doubled in her team’s first run but Beachy was the big winner. In addition to her two-run single in the third, the rookie centerfielder ripped a triple in the second to collect two more RBI bringing her total to four on two hits.

HU hammered out 13 hits with four other Foresters, Joelle Beals, Keaffaber, Blankenship and Eichelberger, logging multiple hits.

The Foresters were again error-free in game two with the only blunder of the series committed by Bethel in the second. It came at a cost as it resulted in the day’s only unearned run.

HU will look to extend its four-game win streak to six on Tuesday when they road trip to #RV Taylor.