SOFTBALL

The HU softball team picked up its first sweep of the year Tuesday night with a pair of wins, 8-7, 4-0, over Spring Arbor University (14-25, 7-20). With these wins, the Foresters improve to 13-23 overall, 9-17 in league play. With ten regular season games remaining, Gower’s crew is currently seventh in the Crossroads League standings.

After playing catchup through the first four frames, Huntington looked to Kiera Stacy to get them over the hump. The freshman catcher gave her team its first lead when she blasted a two-run dinger in the bottom of the fifth for a 7-5 advantage.

The Cougars matched that in the seventh when Jade Nowe sent one long with a runner on to knot things up at 7s. It was Stacy to the rescue again. She opened up HU’s side with a single up the middle, made her way to third on back-to-back singles by Paige Eichelberger and Denaia Rice and then slid into home on a wild pitch for the game-winner.

Stacy finished 4-for-5 at the plate, a triple away from hitting for the cycle, and scored twice. Eichelberger also tallied four hits and scored twice. Joelle Beals picked up a pair of hits which included a two-run single in the third. Sophia Beachy sent one to the warning track in left field to double in two runs while Rice also knocked in a run with her infield single.

MacKyndsea Burke went the distance to earn the complete-game win. The rookie hurler gave up nine hits, seven runs, five of which were earned, and three walks while fanning one.

Meghan Fretz dominated game two. The sophomore ace scattered five hits and two walks while striking out three. Only four Cougar baserunners made it past first base.

Gower’s crew got on the board early in the nightcap to take control and stay there. Kennedy Krull singled in the first run in the second after which the Foresters added two more in the third.

Stacy kicked things off with a blooper into shallow center. Eichelberger followed suit with another base poke into center. Crofoot drew a base on balls to load the bases and then Rozlynn Everhart worked a second straight walk to collect the RBI. Center field proved the Foresters favorite spot as Beals sent one there too to knock in the frame’s second run to up HU’s lead to 3-0.

Crofoot put the finishing touches on the shutout when she launched one into the tennis courts for her second homer of the year. The heavy hitter posted two hits as did Stacy and Eichelberger. As a team, HU finished with nine hits.

The Foresters are back in action on Friday for a doubleheader at #RV Taylor beginning at 4:00 p.m.