SOFTBALL

It was a survive and advance day for the 6th-seeded Forester softball team Wednesday afternoon at Taylor University on opening day of the Crossroads League Tournament. After suffering a 7-2 loss to the host and 3rd-seed Trojans, HU rebounded with a 2-1 win over 7th-seed Saint Francis to bounce the Cougars from of the tourney.

Up next for Gower’s crew is a matchup with 4th-seeded Mount Vernon in another elimination game tomorrow at 10AM at Marian University, the host site for the rest of the tourney.

Against Taylor, the wind blowing out of center field helped both teams but most certainly tipped in favor of the Trojans as six of their seven runs came by way of the long ball.

HU freshman Sophia Beachy was the first to send one out of the park, the first of her collegiate career, in the top of the second for an early 1-0 lead. She also drove in her team’s second run in the fourth with a shot to the warning track on her way to a team-leading two hits. As a team, Huntington finished with just four hits – the other two coming at the bat of Casey Lehman and Paige Eichelberger.

Cassie Kuizin more than answered Beachy’s homer in the Trojans’ side of the second with a three-run blast to jet the hosts in front 3-1. Davis Carter’s solo shot in the third upped the lead to 4-1 before Beachy posted her RBI-single. It was all Taylor after that as they scored again in the fourth and then benefited from another four-bagger, this time for two runs, to make for the 7-2 final.

Lairen Miller entered the contest 2-0 against the Trojans but was charged with the loss on this given day, giving up 11 hits, seven runs and four walks while striking out three.

Against Saint Francis, junior Marty Harris got ahold of one that cleared the left field fence for her first dinger of the year, the fourth of her career, for the game’s first run in the bottom of the second. A little small ball by the Foresters in the third capped off with Eichelberger’s RBI-ground out proved to be the game-winner.

The Cougars would get one back in the fourth. They threatened a few times after that – including a rally in the seventh that saw the tying run on third with just one out – but freshman Meghan Fretz worked her way out of the jam each time to preserve her ninth win of the year. She went the distance to give up four hits, one run and four walks while striking out three.

Huntington’s record stands at 23-25.