HUNTINGTON, Ind. – The Marian softball team traded wins with Huntington Friday afternoon to move to 31-3 overall and 20-2 in Crossroads League play. After coming up with the 1-0 win in the opener, the Knights fell short in game two 3-2 after a walk-off spoiler by the Foresters.
Game 1 | Marian 1-0 Huntington
Marian and Huntington were both held scoreless in a pitcher's duel until the runs started to trickle in in the fourth inning. The Foresters made a threat first in the bottom of the second when they registered the first hit of the game, but Olivia Stunkel does what she does best as she got the strike out for the last out.
Savannah Harweger picked up the Knights' first hit as she singled up the middle to start the fourth inning, before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Marian scored their first and only run after Abby Madere hit the sacrifice fly, allowing Harweger to score.
Stunkel struck out four through the next three innings to keep her team ahead. With the 1-0 lead at hand, Marian saw a chance to tack on some insurance runs, but the hosts managed to get out of the inning and leave the Marian runners stranded.
Huntington threatened Marian's lead after start the bottom of the seventh with a double, while a walk put runners on first and second. A sacrifice fly put the Foresters in scoring position, as the runner advanced. However, Stunkel stayed poised, striking out the final batter on the full count to help the Knights clinch the 1-0 victory.
In Marian's three hits, Harweger, Madere, and Brooke Knox all recorded one, while Madere picked up one RBI as well. Stunkel pitched all seven innings, striking out nine batters, and allowing three hits to pick up her 16th win.
Game 2 | Marian 2-3 Huntington
Unlike the opener, the nightcap began with Huntington scoring in the bottom half of the first inning after an RBI single. Knox broke the silence in the top of the second inning with her single, before Anna Pritchett recorded the RBI single to even the score.
The next two innings went scoreless for both sides, with the Foresters notching four hits to the Knights' one. Marian made up for it in the top half of the fifth, as Pritchett executed on a pair of errors made by the hosts to cross home plate and give her team the 2-1 advantage.
In an effort to pack on a few more runs in the final inning, the Knights had a solid look with Abbi Wirey and Harweger on second and third. However, Marian was unable to execute as the next two batters would be put away. Huntington managed to load the bases after the first three batters, leading to the tying run to cross the plate. With the game tied at 2-2, the hosts had the walk-off play to score the game winning run.
Norman led Marian with two hits, while five different Knights each recorded a hit. Pritchett had the Knights' lone RBI, while Harweger and Grace Meyer each scored a run.
Marian heads to Goshen tomorrow for another twin bill with the Maple Leafs at 1 p.m.
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