The Highland Huskies defended their home diamond against the Lone Tree Lady Lions on June 23 in celebration of senior night. Honored for the Huskies was Jessica Kraus, Abbi Stransky, Katelyn Waters and MyLei Smith. When the game began, no one knew how much these seniors would play into the eventual 10-0 win. 

Kraus eclipsed 300 strikeouts in her softball career on the mound, doing so in the top of the fifth inning. Stransky hit a two-run homerun in the top of the first, driving home junior Sarah Burton.

Burton would later hit a three-run homerun in the third inning, bringing home Waters and junior Madison Beeson. Smith had a single and reached on an error, scoring a run as well to round out the senior performances.

For Lone Tree, it was eighth grader Abby Zaruba on the mound. She struggled in areas but was facing a tough Huskie team. She only has room to grow.

“[Abby’s future] is very bright. She’s been pitching for a long time from what I hear from her parents and now she’s just got to keep her head up,” head coach Jovonte Squiers said. “She’s still young, she’s pitching varsity and sometimes she gets down on herself, but she’s just got to understand that we have a long ways to go and you know, she’ll continue to grow.”

Facing the speed of Highland’s Burton, Lone Tree sophomore Kayleigh Rundlett seemed up for the task behind home plate. 

Despite not catching Burton from stealing, no one has so far this season, Rundlett created a close call in the bottom of the first inning, almost catching Burton dead in her tracks at second. Rundlett almost caught another runner late in the game and only has room to grow.

“[Kayleigh’s] got a really good arm. Accuracy is our first thing and she’s really improved from last year,” Squiers said. “She had a goal [of six caught runners] and she already passed it [with eight].” 

In the face of adversity, coach Squiers keeps everything jovial in the Lone Tree dugout. 

“They’re always telling me jokes; I’m telling them jokes. Anyway I can keep them smiling, keep them happy. I don’t want them to be too hard on themselves,” Squiers said. “As long as they keep their head up and everything, that’s the big key and the big goal.”

Squiers hopes the team continues improvement with their defensive work, though with a young team, it takes time. 

Lone Tree 2, Holy Trinity Catholic 12 6/26

The final regular season game of the year came against Holy Trinity Catholic on Monday, June 26. The Lady Lions lost 12-2, dropping their season record down to 9-15.

The Lions are slated for a rematch against Highland in the first round of playoff action. The game will be held in Riverside on Friday, June 30, at 7 p.m.