SOFTBALL

The 7th-seeded Forester softball team delivered the upset of the tournament Thursday morning, knocking off top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan, 5-1, in an elimination game at Westendorf Field before falling in a hard-fought 4-3 decision to 3rd-seeded Marian later in the day to bring their season to a close.

Against the Wildcats, Huntington played with confidence from the first pitch and never looked back.

Kinzie Mollenkopf took charge in the circle, limiting IWU to just one unearned run on eight hits and one walk while striking out five in a complete-game effort. The junior right-hander worked out of trouble time and again, stranding seven runners and keeping the tournament’s top seed off balance all morning.

The Foresters backed their ace with a balanced offensive attack, scoring in three different innings and racking up nine hits. The biggest blow came in the second when HU plated three runs behind clutch hitting. Josslynn Harbert got things started with an RBI single before Makinzie Kline ripped an RBI triple to right center. Kasey Hickle followed with a run-scoring single to cap the surge and give Huntington a 3-0 lead.

Maddie Goheen added the exclamation point an inning later, crushing her first collegiate home run over the right-center fence to extend the lead to 4-0.

Indiana Wesleyan’s lone run came in the third, but it did little to slow the Foresters. HU added insurance in the seventh when Khloee Gregory delivered an RBI single to score Jess Duvall. Gregory finished 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI, while Kline led the way at 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI. Harbert also drove in a run, and Maddie Duvall added two hits as part of the nine-hit effort.

Defensively, Huntington turned two double plays and played clean, fundamental softball to seal the upset and send the No. 1 seed home as the tournament’s first team eliminated.

Just hours later, the Foresters were back on the field for another elimination game, squaring off with Marian in a matchup that felt all too familiar.

The Knights struck first, but Huntington answered in the fourth when Maddie Duvall lifted a sacrifice fly to score Makinzie Kline and tie things at 1-1. HU grabbed its first lead an inning later as Kline drove in a run with a groundout after reaching on a single earlier in the frame.

Marian responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half to reclaim a 3-2 edge, but the Foresters refused to go quietly. In the sixth, Maddie Duvall delivered one of the most daring plays of the season, swiping home to knot the game at 3-3.

The back-and-forth battle carried into the seventh where the Knights ultimately had the final say, using a walk-off sacrifice fly to escape with the 4-3 win.

Huntington totaled six hits in the nightcap, with Kline, Jess Duvall, Maddie Goheen, Maddie Duvall, Khloee Gregory and Kailee Bishop each recording a hit. Kline drove in a run and scored once, while Maddie Duvall added an RBI and a run scored.

Mollenkopf returned to the circle and gave the Foresters another chance, allowing four runs on seven hits with one walk in 6.2 innings of work.

Today’s matchup with Marian mirrored Huntington’s battle with them less than 24 hours earlier, with both contests decided by a single run as Mollenkopf and Marian’s Macy Coan once again dueled in the circle.

The loss closes the book on the Foresters’ season as head coach Tim Averill’s squad finishes the year at 28-24.