CLERMONT, Fla. – Houghton returned to the diamond after spending their day off visiting a local elementary classroom playing games and enjoying the sunny weather with them. They picked up a win against Regis to start the day but the win train was halted when they faced Bluffton in the afternoon.
 
Game 1
Houghton 5, Regis 0
 
Houghton clinched the win thanks to an offensive team effort. Five different Highlanders contributed to their seven total hits. Katie Jones and Grace Edwards each had two hits, apiece. While Caitlyn Cybart, Hannah Cybart and McKenzie Marti each added a hit to the stat sheet.
 
The Highlanders first attempt at bat was a particularly noteworthy one. Following two outs on the Highlander's first two batters, the offense began to organize and make a push to score two runs before the inning would end. These runs came on the back of single by G. Edwards, bringing H. Haskell to third base. C. Cybart would step up and continue to salvage the inning by hitting a double to right center batting in the runs of H. Haskell and G. Edwards. The bottom of the first inning culminated with 2-0 lead for Houghton.
 
Hitting was not the only factor that contributed to this win for Houghton. With the score at 5-0 in favor of the highlanders, the top of the sixth inning looked promising for the Pride. They managed to load the bases with the first three batters. With the bases loaded and zero outs the pressure was on for Kayla Loomis, who was on the mound for Houghton. The freshman came up big with a strike out followed by two quick outs in the field for the Highlanders. They left the inning maintaining the clean sheet on the score board. Houghton held the clean sheet for the remainder of the contest to earn their second win of the season.
 

Game 1 Notes

• Hannah Haskell's stolen base put her in good position to score the first run of the game.
• Kayla Loomis picked up her first win of her career on the mound striking out two batters and giving up six hits to the Pride.
• C. Cybart had a noteworthy game, she went 1-3 at bat with 2 RBI's
• M. Marti, 12 total hits in 2019, already has five hits in five games for the Highlanders

Game 2
Houghton 1, Bluffton 5

Bluffton started the scoring on Thursday afternoon in the Highlander's second game of the day. The Beavers had a two-run play in the bottom of the first inning off of a single that brought two runners safely over home plate. Beavers were leading 2-0 going in to the top of the second inning. Mariah Rogers cut the Beaver's lead in half with a single up the middle, batting in the run of H. Cybart, 2-1.
 
The scoring halted temporarily, each team picking up three outs off of three batters in the bottom of the second for Houghton and the top of the third for Bluffton. The Beavers found two more runs in the bottom of the third pushing their lead to 4-1.


Houghton never stopped battling. They nearly added a run to the score sheet in the top of the 4^th inning. Sitting on two outs, H. Cybart stepped up to the plate hitting a single to center field. Her sister, C. Cybart, used the opportunity to advance to third. She received the signal to continue to home plate. C. Cybart had her sights set on scoring the Highlanders second run of the match. Unfortunately, she would be thrown out by a line drive form the Bluffton center fielder directly to the catcher.
 
The Highlander offense continued to be stifled by the Beavers. Bluffton extended their lead in the bottom of the 5^th inning, 5-1. The Beavers had two runners on base, when K. Loomis subbed in on the mound. She managed to save the inning from getting out of hand with three quick outs; two fly balls and a strike out. Picking up the action at the bottom of the sixth, K. Loomis had another good showing on the mound. Her two strikeouts led the Highlanders out of inning without allowing the Beavers to increase the deficit. However, they had work to be done during their final at bat. The Beaver's lead proved to be unsurmountable for the Highlanders ultimately falling by a score of 5-1.  
 

Game 2 Notes

• K. Jones, who had a total of 17 hits in 2019, leads the team with 8 hits in just 6 games
• H. Haskell went 2 for 3 at bat

Next Game
Houghton returns to the diamond tomorrow with two more contests. The Highlanders are looking for their first win in their sixth meeting in program history against the Rose-Hulman, Fightin' Engineers at 10 a.m. The assistant coach for the Engineers is a Houghton Softball Alumna, Bailey Shattell. Then at 12:15 p.m, the Highlanders have a showdown against the Fontbonne Griffins for the first time in program history.