SOFTBALL

There were plenty of reasons to celebrate on Senior Day for the HU softball team Saturday afternoon. Before the first pitch, the Foresters honored their four seniors, Karlee Franklin, Gena Moore, Maddie Turner, Jo Walker, then followed up the festivities by knocking off #12 Indiana Wesleyan (41-7, 31-5) in the opener, 8-3, before falling 10-6 in the nightcap.

The win over the Wildcats marks HU’s third Top-15 victory this season—and the highest-ranked opponent they’ve defeated this spring. Two of Indiana Wesleyan’s five conference losses this year have come at the hands of the Foresters, with the teams also splitting a doubleheader on April 1, when Huntington claimed a 2-1 win over then-#15 IWU.

Fittingly, Turner delivered the biggest win of her Forester career by going the distance in game one to notch the upset win. She struck out three, scattered seven hits, and gave up three runs and one walk. Meanwhile, HU’s offense stepped up early and often to back her up.

The Foresters struck first thanks to a sacrifice fly by Maddie Duvall, followed by a Wildcat error that allowed a second run across in the first inning. IWU briefly climbed on top with a three-run second inning, but Jess Duvall quickly reclaimed the momentum with a three-run moon shot in the bottom of the frame, her second homer of the week.

Coach Tim Averill’s squad kept the pressure on in the fourth. Gena Moore’s RBI-fielder’s choice plated a run before she came around to score on Maddie Duvall’s hard-hit single through the right side. Josslynn Harbert added an insurance run with an RBI-single in the sixth while Turner and the defense held IWU scoreless over the final five frames.

Jess Duvall led the Foresters’ attack, going 3-for-3 with three RBI. Kasey Hickle, Moore, and Gabrielle Hypes each added two hits, as HU outhit their visitors 11-7.

The second game didn’t start as smoothly. Indiana Wesleyan jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Huntington finally broke through in the third on Maddie Duvall’s RBI-groundout. The Wildcats answered with two more runs in the fourth to stretch the margin to 6-1, but the Foresters showed the grit that’s become their trademark.

Over the next three innings, Huntington chipped away. Carli Tharp sparked the comeback with two run-scoring doubles, while Gregory and Harbert chipped in RBI-singles to tie the game 6-6 by the sixth inning.

Momentum seemed to favor the Foresters heading into the seventh, but IWU responded with a late offensive surge, tallying four runs to reclaim control. Huntington opened the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles but couldn’t mount another rally, settling for the split.

HU outhit Indiana Wesleyan 14-11 in the nightcap, paced by Harbert’s 3-for-4 outing. Tharp added two hits and three RBI. The Foresters have now logged double-digit hits 18 times this season, including a current six-game streak of 10 or more hits.

Natalie Haselby took the loss in relief, tossing the final 1.1 innings during which she allowed four runs on six hits and three walks.

With the split, Huntington finishes the regular season with a 33-16-1 record (22-13-1 in Crossroads League play) and will enter next week’s Crossroads League Tournament as the No. 3 seed.