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HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The HBU Huskies improved to (6-2) with a sweep a pair of games to open up the Bearkat Invitational in Huntsville, Texas. HBU first defeated the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, 9-2, followed by a victory against the Providence Friars, 7-1 who opened their season today.
Game 1: The HBU Huskies opened the Bearkat Invitational against the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers with a 9-2 victory.
The game got off to a slow start for the first three innings with neither team pushing any runs across keeping the game tied until the bottom of the fourth when the Ramblers took a 2-0 lead. Jessica Shields reached on base with a double to left field followed by a one out hit by pitch to Shannon McGee with a runner on first and second allowed Katie Polaski to drive both runners in on a two out double to center field giving the Ramblers their first two and only runs on the game.
The Huskies answered back in the top of the fifth inning starting off with a freshman
Katy Schaefer single followed by an
Avery Drake walk who later stole second and scored on a two out single by
Jasie Roberts that tied the game up 2-2.
The Huskies tacked on six more runs in the top of the sixth inning on five hits and two errors by the Ramblers defense. The Huskies led off with three straight singles by Heid Jaquez,
Caitlyn Brockway, and Schaefer. Jaquez scored on Schaefer's single that gave the Huskies a 3-2 lead. Brockway scored on an
Amber Lotz single to right field that advanced Schaefer to third on the play. Drake reached on an error by the 2B that scored Schaefer. The next at bat
Shelby Echols stepped in and drove in Lotz making the score 6-2. An
Autumn Sydlik and
Caitlyn Brockway walk allowed the Huskies to score two more runs which gave the Huskies a commanding lead going into the bottom of the sixth.
The Huskies scored one more run in the seventh inning on a
Sierra Humphrey single that scored
Avery Drake making it 9-2. The Huskies went on to win the game after a perfect inning by
Lyndie Swanson.
Junior
Jessica Patak earned her second win on the season making her (2-0) after five innings of work giving up two runs on three hits while striking out two batters. Swanson threw two shutout innings and giving up one hit.
Game 2: The Huskies got off to an early lead by a two out single by
Jasie Roberts that later scored on a
Heidi Jaquez double to center field giving HBU a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
In the top of the third inning
Shelby Echols scored on an RBI groundout by
Katy Schaefer putting the Huskies up 2-0.
The Huskies led off the fourth inning with a
Megan Hiers solo homerun to left making it her first since her freshman year in 2017.
Riley Bullen hit a one out single and later scored on a Echols single through the right side. Freshman
Jasie Roberts followed with her first collegiate homerun giving the Huskies a commanding 6-0 lead over the Friars.
HBU added one more run in the top of the fifth by
Caitlyn Brockway walk and later scored on a Lotz single giving the Huskies a 7-0 lead. The Friars scored on four straight walks in the bottom of the seventh and the Huskies went on to win by a 7-1 score.
Freshman
Madison Cotton led the Huskies in the circle with six innings of work giving up one run on four hits striking out three on the day while walking eight batters improving her record to (2-0). Junior
Elliott Estes came into relief in the 7
th inning recording the last three out giving the Huskies a 7-1 win improving their record to 6-2 on the year.
The Huskies continue the Bearkat Invitational with a rematch against the Providence Friars, first pitch is at 12:15. HBU follows with a matchup against George Mason University who is winless in their 2020 campaign.
