HU comes up with big win over Lynn, stumbles against Michigan-Dearborn

MELBOURNE, Fla. – It was a little bit of Jekyll and Hyde for the HU softball team Wednesday afternoon at the USAA Space Coast Spring Games. After an impressive 9-7 win over NCAA Division II Lynn University, the Foresters' offense dried up against Michigan-Dearborn to the tune of a 7-0 loss.

Against Lynn, Ehler and crew had to scratch and claw their way back from a 6-0 deficit. It started in the third when Jessica Duvall smacked an RBI-double. HU had big bats in the fourth to knot things up on five hits and an error to score five times. Duvall highlighted the frame with another double, this time knocking in two runs. Courtney Mason also had an RBI-base poke in Huntington's five-run at-bat.

After lying dormant since the second inning, the Fighting Knights fought back with a run in the fifth to slip back on top 7-6. The sixth frame came and went before the Foresters came roaring back in the top of the seventh.

Maddie Duvall jumpstarted the comeback with a lead-off single. Three batters later, Carlie Tharp landed on first via an error but the Foresters were down to their last out. Gena Moore led the two-out rally with a single to knock in Duvall for the 7-7 draw.

With runners on the corners, Lynn committed their second error of the frame much to the delight of Tharp and Moore who scampered home for the 9-7 go ahead.

The Fighting Saints had one final shot but Natalie Haselby slammed the door shut on that notion. The rookie southpaw sat down her first two batters and then coaxed the third into a fly out for a 1-2-3 inning and the big win.

Haselby spent the final 5.2 innings on the bump where she gave up four hits, two runs, only one earned, and five walks while striking out four.

Moore finished with three hits, which included a double and triple, and an RBI. Maddie Duvall also collected a trio of hits. Jessica Duvall hammered out two hits, drew two walks and knocked in three runs. As a team, HU finished with 12 hits to Lynn's nine.

Game two was sobering as Michigan-Dearborn effectively close downed HU's offense. While the Foresters managed just three hits, they still managed to load the bases on two different occasions but each time the Wolverines found a way to get out of the jam to preserve their shutout.

UMD scored in five of their seven at-bats with Maddie Turner taking the hit for HU. She tossed all seven frame and gave up ten hits, seven runs and three walks while striking out five in the losing effort.

Courtney Mason accounted for two of HU's three hits with Jessica Duvall pounding out the other.

HU (3-2) has a chance at redemption tomorrow as they kick off the day with another meeting with Michigan-Dearborn followed by a game against Fort Lauderdale.

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 Reportranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.