Foresters add two more wins to their resume

MELBOURNE, Fla. – It was a great day of softball for the Foresters at the USAA Space Coast Spring Games having added two more wins to their resume, topping Michigan-Dearborn 7-0 and then following that up with a 3-2 win over Fort Lauderdale.

Just over 12 hours after suffering a disappointing 7-0 loss to Michigan-Dearborn, HU returned the favor first thing Thursday morning by shutting out the Wolverines 5-0.

Karlee Franklin was dominant in the circle. The sophomore hurler put on a show, scattering just two hits and a walk while striking out 11 to notch the complete-game shutout. She had at least one strikeout every frame.

At the plate, HU jumped out to an early lead on a Breanna Hines sacrifice fly in the top of the first. Courtney Mason doubled in a run in the fourth to add to Huntington's lead but it was the seventh that solidified things.

After threatening in the sixth but leaving two runners stranded, the Foresters cranked out three insurance runs to guarantee the win. Carlie Tharp blasted a shot to center for a two-run double and then eventually came around to score on Gena Moore's single to right.

As a team, Huntington tallied nine hits to UDM's two with three coming at the bat of Mason.

Against Fort Lauderdale a few hours later, it was Jessica Duvall's walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh that was cause for celebration in the HU dugout. It came on the heels of Mason stealing second after drawing a walk to represent the winning run.

The Eagles scored in their first at-bat while HU's first two runs came in the third. Kinsey Westerhouse doubled in the first run and then Audrey Barnes connected on an infield single to drive in run #2 to give Huntington the 2-1 lead. The back-and-forth affair saw the Eagles knot things up in the fifth to set the stage for Duvall's heroics.

HU, the hosts on the scoreboard, outhit their visitors 5-4 with the first five Foresters in the line-up each logging a hit.

Pitching was on point all day for Ehler's crew with Maddie Turner tossing a complete-game gem. The sophomore southpaw allowed five hits, three runs and six walks while striking out five for the win.

With today's victories, the Foresters improve to 5-2 on the year. The Foresters wrap up their time in Florida tomorrow with a game against Ave Maria followed by a matchup with Calumet College of Saint Joseph.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 17 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 125 NAIA All-America honors and 449 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.