Highland comes up short to O’Fallon in opener

The Highland softball team battled hard to the very end and had the tying runs on base in the bottom of the seventh before falling short in a 3-1 season-opening loss to visiting O’Fallon in a battle of area powerhouses on Wednesday.

“I liked that we made some noise in the dugout and I liked that we were pushing hard there at the very end,” Highland first-year coach Greg Exton said. “We had runners on base but we just couldn’t pop that extra hit or two in there when we needed it.”

O’Fallon senior pitcher Addison Barnouski, a Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) recruit and one of the best pitchers in Southern Illinois SEMO recruit, has been sharp in two wins in as many days to pick up right where she left off last season when she logged a 1.45 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 169 innings.

Highland had six hits but could only muster one run across against Barnouski (2-0), who blanked Mater Dei in the Panthers’ 10-0 short game a day earlier.

With two outs in the seventh, the Lady Bulldogs gave themselves a fighting chance as junior pitcher Aubrey Hacke lined a single to center field and sophomore shortstop Kourtney Zobrist, the very next hitter, was hit by a pitch. But Barnouski ended the threat and the game by inducing junior right fielder Sierra Huelsmann to ground out.

The Lady Bulldogs (0-1), who next host Greenville on Tuesday, left eight runners on base..

Hacke, a lefty, also pitched very good, allowing just two earned runs while punching out eight and issuing just one free pass. She was hurt by an unearned that allowed O’Fallon’s third run to score.

“We hit the ball some, but you’ve got to put them together,” Exton said. “We had them too strung out and they were able to strand our runners. We couldn’t push enough across. Aubrey Hacke threw a nice game. Usually, she is going to throw a good ballgame if she has got her control and usually she does have her control. If she does have an issue, that is usually what it is. There are not too many teams are going to knock her around. She’s a tough cookie.”

The Panthers (2-0) scored all of their runs early, with a single tally in the second innings followed by a pair of runs in the third.

O’Fallon junior Nikole Patterson drove home the first run when she singled up the middle to plate Courtney Keller, who was hit by a pitch with two outs before stealing second base.

In the third, Panther senior Cassie Brown led off with a bunt single. Sophomore Ginger Huskey followed by punching a double to right field to chase Brown home for a 2-0 lead. Huskey later scored on a throwing error from Highland junior catcher Megan Frey, who was trying to steal an out with a pick-off attempt of Brown at third base.

Highland, which won the program’s first-ever sectional championship last season, pushed across its only run in the sixth. Junior first baseman Hannah Miener socked a double to right and senior center fielder Lauren Wright smacked a two-out single to center to knock in Miener.

For Highland, Hacke and sophomore second baseman Peyton Holzinger each collected two hits.

Barnouski added a triple, walked once and also stole a base for O’Fallon, which ended up stealing four bases.

Exton said there are some things his team needs to work on, including missing a couple of signs from the coaches.

“We had three mental mistakes in the game, one of them didn’t end up costing us a run but the other two both cost us runs,” Exton said. “You tell your players that one of the main things it to try and stay focused so you can cut down on mental mistakes.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 6:58 AM with the headline "Highland comes up short to O’Fallon in opener."