SOFTBALL

The HU softball team didn’t have an answer for Mount Vernon Nazarene University (21-13, 12-9) Saturday as they dropped three games, 4-1, 9-3, 4-0, to the Cougars. The first two contests were part of the originally scheduled doubleheader at MVNU while the third was a make-up game postponed because of weather from April 6 when the Cougars made the trip to Huntington.

Offense didn’t come easy for the visitors all afternoon and in game one, HU’s only run came by way of Casey Lehman’s sacrifice fly in the third. The Foresters managed just two hits in the contest while the Cougars finished with eight to the tune of four runs, three of which were earned.

Lairen Miller was charged with the loss.

The Foresters had a better showing at the plate in game two to score three runs but came up well short as the Cougars opened up a 6-0 lead and then nursed their advantage for a second win.

Mallory West was the common denominator in two of HU’s three runs.

West stepped in to pitch in the bottom of the third and was also called upon to step up to the plate. The rookie led off the fourth with a single to left and eventually plated HU’s first run on Kennedy Krull’s sacrifice fly. Huntington scored a second time in the third compliments of Karley Blankenship’s RBI-single for a 6-2 ball game.

The fifth saw West tally another base poke and come around to score, this time on a wild throw by MVNU’s second baseman, to draw her team within three at 6-3. However, MVNU piled on three more insurance runs in the sixth to cruise to the win.

Starting pitcher Meghan Fretz took the loss for HU. She spent the first 2.2 innings in the circle and gave up nine of the Cougars’ 11 hits and six of their nine runs before being relieved by West.

West finished 2-for-3 at the plate, as did Audra Klopfenstein.

In the final game of the day, Huntington was on the wrong side of a shutout. It marked the fifth time this season the Foresters have been held scoreless. Gower’s crew managed just three hits with Lehman cashing in on two of them. The Cougars, on the other hand, pounded out 11 hits for four runs to enjoy their third win of the day.

Miller took to the circle for a second time and was tagged with a second loss.

Huntington (18-18, 13-12) will look to get back on track Monday when they host Saint Francis at 3PM.