RIVERSIDE

In an early season rivalry showdown, Lone Tree’s 6-2 advantage was cut down to a single run after the Huskies rallied in the bottom of the fifth but the visiting Lady Lions maintained their composure and never let their lead fully slip away.   

Earning its first win of the series since 2020, Lone Tree (3-3) collected a 11-6 conference victory over Highland (2-3) last Thursday.

“Determination, I think, is what we had and a lot of composure. You know, they threw punches. We threw punches,” Lone Tree coach Jovonte Squiers said about the win over Highland”.  They got it down to one, and we were able to rally off of it and stay relaxed and do what was needed to get out.”

Through two scoreless innings, Lone Tree broke through on offense with three runs scored but Highland responded in the bottom of the third with two runs of its own. Through the next inning and a half the Lady Lions added three more to their lead to take control of the game.

Not backing down, the Huskies scored three runs in the fifth to lower their deficit to one. After this Highland surge, Lone Tree locked down on defense by only allowing one more run for the rest of the game. This defensive effort was led by starting pitcher Abby Zaruba who finished with six strikeouts. 

“We had a quick conversation. I asked [Abby Zaruba], “You want to keep going?” She said, “I got this.” I said, “Great, because I’m not taking you out,” coach Squiers said about a conversation he had with Zarbua after Highland rallied in the fifth.

“And she kept battling through. Last year, even last week it could have been something where we pulled her out, and I just said, “No, you’re going the rest of the game.” And she stayed in and did what she needed to do.”

The Lone Tree offense totaled 14 hits with Vivian Zaruba and Addison McCullough leading the way with three hits each. Alex Dautremont recorded a team leading three RBIs.

Despite the loss the Highland duo of freshman Kamryn Fink and senior Lilly Barre were a force on offense. Fink went four-for-four when up to bat and Barre went two-for-three which included a home run in the seventh inning. Barre led the Huskies with three RBIs and Fink stole a team high three bases.

Freshman Larissa Murphy pitched five innings for Highland, striking out two. Both Adisyn (who was the starting pitcher) and Joslyn Prottsman pitched for one inning each and they ended with one strikeout each.

“[Highland] is going to be hungry when they come back to Lone Tree. They’re going to want to get us too,” coach Squiers said about the eventual rematch against Highland. “You wouldn’t expect anything less from a program like this. They’re always a good team. They’re still a really good team this year. We just found the bats today, a little bit more, and it’s just kind of how the game works sometimes.”

Columbus 8, Lone Tree 2

Breaking a tie in the fifth and adding insurance runs in the sixth, Columbus (6-2) earned a road conference victory over Lone Tree (3-4) last Friday.    

The Wildcats struck first in the third with two runs but the Lady Lions responded in the fourth with a couple of runs of their own to knot up the score. 

Columbus proceeded to score three runs in the fifth and in the sixth to take a six run lead. The Wildcat defense made sure its lead started intact as Lone Tree was held to zero runs scored for the final three innings of the contest. 

Senior Alex Dautremont pitched all seven innings for the Lady Lions as she struck out five and allowed two walks. Dautremont also recorded a team high three hits on offense. Fellow seniors Vivian Zaruba and Haley Bockelman

Lone Tree 4, Central City 3

A weekend contest went the way of the visiting team as the Lady Lions scored a non-conference road victory over Central City (7-8) last Saturday. 

Lone Tree entered the sixth inning trailing by one but scored twice to take the advantage. With the seventh featuring no runs scored, the Lady Lions maintained their lead to obtain their first win over Central City since 2016.

Abby Zaruba went the distance for Lone Tree, recording five strikeouts and allowing one walk. Vivian Zaruba connected on a team high two hits and brought in two runs.

Up next for Lone Tree (4-4) is a home matchup against No. 15 West Burlington-Notre Dame(6-4) on June 12.