SOFTBALL

The Huntington softball team blanked Grace, 6-0, 8-0, Saturday afternoon to complete the two-game sweep over their visitors.

With these wins, the Foresters improve to 11-7 overall, 2-2 in league play. HU has logged four straight wins over the Lancers (1-17, 1-3).

The third inning of game one proved the pivotal at-bat for Huntington. After Kennedy Krull was hit by a pitch, the Foresters reeled off four consecutive hits which included Paige Eichelberger’s two-run single to right-center and Jada Crofoot’s RBI-double. A few batters later, Abigail Reed dropped a shot into right field to plate two more runs bringing HU’s run total to five for the frame.

Crofoot ripped a shot to the right field fence for a stand-up triple in the fifth before coming around to score on Darby Minor’s single to push the game’s final run across home plate.

Crofoot, Minor and Reed each finished with a pair of hits. Reed also tallied two RBI while Crofoot scored twice and collected an RBI.

Adelyn Harsh got the starting nod in the circle where she spent 4.2 innings to scatter three hits and two walks while striking out two for the win.

While both teams landed runners on base in all but one of the first four frames of the nightcap, the scoreboard remained unaffected. Finally, in the fifth, the hosts strung together three hits to set the stage for Eichelberger who got beaned for an unconventional RBI.

Crofoot picked up where she left off in the opener by knocking in her team’s first run of the nightcap with a single to shallow center. Huntington’s next two runs came by way of Minor’s run-scoring single and Reed’s RBI-ground out after which Courtney Mason unloaded a single deep to left-center that allowed Crofoot and Minor to easily cruise home for a 6-0 ball game.

Crofoot was back at in the sixth to wrap up the day’s scoring. With bases loaded, the senior first baseman cranked a double down the left field line that drove in two runs to bring an abrupt ending to the game compliments of the eight-run mercy rule. She posted two hits and three RBI to lead the Foresters at the plate. Three of her four hits in the series were for extra bases.

Hannah Shoupe, Eichelberger, Minor and Sophia Beachy each tallied a pair of base pokes. As a team, the Foresters racked up 13 hits while limiting the Lancers to just four.

Meghan Fretz worked the first 4.2 innings and gave up three hits and a walk while striking out one before being relieved by Mallory West who was tabbed the winner having given up just one hit in 1.1 innings of work.

The Foresters are back at it on Tuesday to host Taylor at 3:00 p.m.