DENTON, Texas – The HBU softball team dropped a pair of games, falling 9-3 to Nicholls and 5-2 to UT Martin in the Mean Green Spring Fling on Saturday afternoon at Lovelace Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 against Nicholls (13-7), the Huskies (8-6) accounted for all three of their runs in the bottom of the second. Junior
Cecilia Bauer singled and moved up to second base on a wild pitch to open the bottom frame, before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore
Nicole Shedd. Following a strikeout, Bauer scored on an infield error. Freshman
Demi Janak then deposited a 1-0 offering over the left-center wall, the third of her career, to plate two more runs.
The Colonels responded with a five-run third inning and added three more runs with two in the fifth and one in the seventh to cap the 9-3 decision.
Senior
Shannon O'Connor (1-2) took the loss for HBU, allowing six runs (four earned), in two and two-thirds innings pitcher. Junior
Emily Mueller logged the final four and one-third innings, surrendering three runs.
Nicholls' Hannal Haydel (6-3) picked up the win with two and one-third scoreless innings in relief of starter Megan Landry. Taylor Hastings also tossed a scoreless frame for the Colonels.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Huskies were limited to three hits by the Skyhawks (11-6). HBU's Bauer and
Caitlin Gunn each went deep, their second third and third homers of the season, respectfully. Janak also hit safely as all three finished 1-for-3.
After UTM drove in two runs in the bottom of the first, Gunn and Bauer recorded back-to-back jacks to tie the game at two-all, where it stayed until the Skyhawks broke out for three runs on four hits in the fourth inning to claim the 5-2 final.
UTM's Brooke Kennedy (5-3) got the win, going the distance in the circle, while senior
Laci Belovsky (5-3) took the loss for the Huskies.
HBU will close the tournament with two games on Sunday. The Huskies will face the Skyhawks one more time, meeting in a 9 a.m. first pitch, before seeing host North Texas at 1 p.m.
