HUNTSVILLE – The HBU softball team started off the season with a win against Dayton on a near perfect game from Lyndie Swanson before dropping the second game of the double-header against South Dakota at the Bearkat Softball Complex Friday afternoon.   
 
Game One: Swanson made quick work of the Flyer's leading HBU (1-0) to a 2-0 win. Swanson sat down six of the first seven Flyers' (0-1) she faced, and didn't give up a hit until the third inning.
 
In her first collegiate at-bat, Haylie Savage sent a double into right center with one out in the second inning. Savage advanced to third on a Riley Martin ground out before a throwing error from the Flyer's pitcher allowed her to get the scoring started for the Huskies.
 
The Huskies scored their second run of the game in the third inning. Shelby Echols singled through the right side and stole second to get into scoring position with no outs. Autumn Sydlik sent a screaming groundball to the shortstop who over threw the first baseman allowing Echols to trot home and Sydlik to advance to second to extend the HBU lead to 2-0.
 
This was a big enough lead for Swanson who struck out nine in the game, one off of her career high. Things didn't get testy for the sophomore until the bottom of the second. Dayton opened the inning by reaching on an error before Walter singled to first base. The Flyer's executed a perfect sac bunt with two runners on to make it second and third with just one out. Swanson refused to let Dayton gain any more momentum however, striking out the final two batters of the game and stranding the runners on base.
 
Swanson earned her first win of the season in the game, striking out nine while allowing just two hits. Echols finised 2-3 with a walk and two stolen bases while Savage picked up her first hit of her collegiate career.
 
Game Two: The Huskies (1-1) dropped the second game of their double header. The Coyotes got the scoring started in a hurry, belting back-to-back home runs in the first inning including a three-run shot.
 
Katy Janes got tagged with her first loss of the season. Sarah Venker allowed one unearned run and struck out six batters in 4.1 innings of relief work for the Huskies. Madison Cotton came in to finish out the final 2.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk.
 
Ab Garcia recorded her first collegiate hit, while Echols, Savage and Jackie Jessup each recorded a hit.

The Huskies return to the field tomorrow evening when they take on Wichita State and Sam Houston in day two of the Bearkat Classic at 4:45 and 7:30 respectively.