HUNTINGTON, Ind. - Senior Day got off to a great start Saturday afternoon with the Huntington softball team notching a 5-3 win over the Taylor Trojans (19-25, 11-19). The nightcap also favored the hosts early on before TU erupted for ten runs in the sixth to eventually take home a 15-11 win.
The first time these two squads met, HU enjoyed the sweep to claim the overall regular season series 3-1.
Both teams put up runs in their opening at-bat in game one, Huntington's by way of a Maddie Duvall sacrifice fly. After briefly leading in the first frame, Taylor added another run in the second to retake the lead. It lasted until the fourth when HU unloaded for four runs. With bases loaded, a wild pitch allowed a run to cross the plate after which Breanna Hines drilled a single into right to plate two more runs.
A few batters later, the bases were loaded again and this time it was a passed ball that allowed another run to score to give the Foresters their first lead at 5-2 that proved permanent. The Trojans got one back in the sixth but would get no closer with Karlee Franklin making sure of it.
The sophomore hurler went the distance to earn the win in the circle for HU. She struck out four while giving up nine hits, three runs and a walk.
Hines accounted for two of HU's five hits. She also drove in two runs while Duvall and Goheen each pounded out a hit and finished with an RBI.
HU took early control of the nightcap to score in three of the first four frames for a 4-0 lead, but Taylor made up that difference in the top of the fifth for a 4-4 stalemate. Duvall's RBI-single in the bottom of the frame put Huntington back on top by one but the wheels fell off after that.
Back-to-back HU errors ignited Taylor's monster sixth as they would go on to pound out seven hits, four for extra bases, and take advantage of another Huntington blunder to find home ten times and catapult in front 14-5.
While most teams would have given up the ghost, not the Foresters. Duvall was at it again, this time knocking in two runs with a two-bagger into left center to cut the lead in half. HU had one more big push in them to cut into the lead.
After Taylor scored in the top of the seventh, the hosts capitalized on a TU error after which Gena Moore singled in a run. Courtney Mason then sent a screamer into right for a two-run single to close the gap to four at 15-11. It was a valiant comeback that came up short when Mady Foy, the starting TU pitcher, reentered the contest to work the final out.
Duvall finished with two hits and three RBI. Khloee Gregory also knocked in three runs which included a two-run triple in the fourth. Gena Moore racked up three hits to go along with an RBI while Hines added two hits and an RBI.
Maddie Turner was charged with the loss. She worked an inning to give up six hits and eight runs, none of which were earned.
Taylor's 15 runs in the nightcap is a season-high and the win snapped a five-game losing skid. The Trojans are sitting seventh in the CL regular season standings.
HU (18-24), with four games remaining, is sixth in the standings with a 14-18 league record. Next up for Rethlake and crew is a trip to Bethel on Tuesday.
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.
