The Highland defense made plays in high-pressure situations during each of the first four innings on Thursday. But Louisa-Muscatine finally made a big play of its own in the fifth. 

With two outs, Jersey Lessenger blasted a ball in the perfect spot down the left field line to score the first run of the game. The seventh-ranked Falcons scored all of their runs with two outs in the 4-0 win. 

Louisa-Muscatine senior Piper Brant allowed just two hits and did not walk a batter on the Falcons’ senior night while striking out nine. 

“You can't win if you don't score,” Highland coach Carrie Wieland said. “We didn't put any hits together and we let the pitcher control the game. She threw a ton of balls and we just kept swinging at everything.”

The Falcons had a runner on third base in each of the first three innings, but the Huskies kept the game scoreless into the fifth. 

McKenna Hohenadel hit a leadoff double in the first inning and reached third base with, but Highland catcher Madison Beeson made a great play on a foul pop up for the second out. and Katelyn Waters made a nice catch in left field which set the tone defensively for Highland. 

MyLei Smith made multiple plays in center field and Lilly Barre snagged a line drive at second base to keep a run from scoring in the third. 

“MyLei played awesome out there,” Wieland said. “She caught one way over her head. I was really proud of MyLei because we've been working on that confidence level and she can catch anything that’s hit to her, she just has to have the confidence.”

The Huskies put themselves in a tough spot, hitting the leadoff batter with a pitch in an 0-2 count with the top of the order due up. A sacrifice bunt and a fly out led to another-high pressure situation with two outs. The Falcons (14-4) finally took advantage and remained undefeated in conference play at 11-0, while the second-place Huskies (10-7-1) fell three games behind in the SEISC North at 8-3. 

Highland 17, Lone Tree 2

The Huskies had a fast start and closed strong in a 17-2 win over Lone Tree on Tuesday. 

Highland took a 7-0 lead after two, but added just one more run during the middle three innings. 

Freshman catcher Katie Herrig was 4-for-5 with two RBIs in the win. Smith had two hits, including a triple, and drove in three runs. Grace Batcheller was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Grace Prybil was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Barre had two hits, including a double and an RBI while Mackinze Hora singled, reached twice on errors and scored three runs. Courtesy runner Carsen Stransky stole three bases and scored twice. 

Batcheller earned the win, allowing no earned runs on five hits and a walk. She struck out six over seven innings. 

Kayleigh Rundlett was 2-for-4 for Lone Tree. Kinley Hayes hit a double and Ellen Carow drove in a run.