SOFTBALL

Playing in its third doubleheader of the week, the HU softball team faced Mount Vernon (21-19, 16-14) Thursday afternoon and came away with a 4-2 win in the nightcap after dropping a 6-2 decision in the opener.

With this split, the Foresters move to 17-27 overall, 13-19 in league play.

Game one saw Gower’s crew score early and then go silent at the plate. Jade Crofoot singled up the middle in HU’s opening at bat to drive in Paige Eichelberger who worked a walk two batters earlier for the 1-0 lead. The Cougars equalized immediately for a 1-1 tie after the first.

Thanks to a little small ball, the Foresters reclaimed the lead in the second. After Joelle Beals drew a walk, the junior shortstop made her way to the opposite corner via a sac bunt and groundout before swiping home on a well-executed double steal.

Unfortunately, Huntington’s offense dried up after that while MVNU took a permanent lead in the bottom of the second on the way to the four-run win.

Crofoot and Eichelberger claimed two hits apiece to account for four of their team’s six hits.

Meghan Fretz tossed the first two frames for the loss by giving up nine hits and five hits.

Fretz took to the circle again in the nightcap and had a much better experience, giving up just seven hits and two runs in six inning of work, to earn the W. MacKyndsea Burke was called up in the seventh to polish off the Cougars, surrendering a hit, to pick up the save.

Offensively, the Foresters got off to a quiet start but righted their wrong starting in the fifth starting when Kiera Stacy singled in a run for the game’s first score. Crofoot added another run in the sixth, singling to left and eventually cruising home on a wild pitch.

Mount Vernon’s bats were quiet too before eventually stringing together four hits in their side of the sixth for two runs and a 2-2 stalemate. The Foresters weren’t having it.

Representing the go ahead run, Stacy was hit by a pitch to open up the seventh. Two batters later, Denaia Rice ripped the game’s only triple to drive in courtesy runner Amber Klopfenstein. Crofoot added an insurance run with her RBI-single after which Burke made sure to preserve her team’s advantage by holding the Cougars scoreless in their last at bat.

Crofoot finished with three hits and an RBI while Stacy and Rice added two hits each and an RBI.

HU is on the road again tomorrow to face Saint Francis at 3:00 p.m.