HUNTINGTON COLLEGE

SEASON SUMMARY 
2002-03

Foresters Ousted From MCC Tournament
May 1, 2003

The Foresters headed into the double elimination MCC Tournament as the #6 seed and lost 6-1 to #3 Indiana Wesleyan University in their first round game, then fell 12-1 to #7 Grace College to bring their season to an end.  Against IWU, the Foresters had three costly errors that led to four unearned runs and had trouble getting their bats going.  Liz Rapone went four innings in the loss for HC.  The loss sent the Foresters to the loser's bracket where they met Grace College.  Again, errors put HC in a hole too deep to overcome. Their five miscues led to six unearned runs and a sputtering offense that managed just four hits wasn't enough to help the Foresters extend their season another game.  Michelle Skibbe was the pitcher of record in the loss.  The women conclude their season with a 6-28 record.

Foresters 1-1 Against PNC
April 26, 2003

The Foresters took advantage of some miscues by the Purdue North Central (PNC) defense to take one of two from the Panthers, winning game one 4-1 and losing game two 2-1.  Although PNC scored one in the first, the Foresters rallied for three in the fourth to reclaim the lead.  Holly Gibson led off the inning with a single and moved to third on a Kaley Fode double.  Kristie Davidson laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Gibson.  Fode scored when Adrienne Bender reached on an error, and then Bender later scored on another Panther error.  HC added an insurance run in the sixth and then held on for the win.  Michelle Skibbe was the pitcher of record for HC, giving up one unearned run on six hits while striking out four.  In the second game, the Panthers scored once in the third and once fifth.  HC got one back in the sixth, but couldn't come up with the key hit needed to earn a sweep.  The Foresters conclude their regular season with a record of 6-26 and have received the sixth seed for the MCC Conference Tournament on May 1-2 at Indiana Wesleyan University.  HC will take on #3 Indiana Wesleyan at noon on Thursday , May 1 in their first game of the double-elimination tournament.

Olivet Sweeps Foresters
April 25, 2003

The Olivet College pitching staff dominated the Forester batters allowing just one run in two games to earn the 11-1, 6-0 sweep.  In the opening game, HC scored one run in the top of the first on a single by Holly Gibson.  The Comets answered with five in their half of the inning and then left no doubt by plating six more in the third.  In game two, HC was down just 1-0 through four innings, but then gave up five runs in the fifth which put the game out of reach.  Kristie Davidson had three hits in the game for the Foresters, but got little or no help from her teammates in the shutout.  Liz Rapone and Michelle Skibbe each took a loss on the day.  The losses drop the women to 5-25 on the season.

Foresters Fall to St. Joseph's
April 22, 2003

The Foresters battled the Pumas of St. Joseph's College, but fell short losing the first game 3-0 and the second 13-6 in nine innings.  In game one, HC's defense keep the Pumas within reach, but the Foresters just couldn't get their bats going.  Again Liz Rapone pitched well, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out one, but got no offensive support.  In game two, HC took an early 2-0 lead, but then gave St. Joseph's six in the top of the third.  The Foresters rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third and ties the game at 6-6.  Both teams then settled down and held the other scoreless, sending the game into extra innings.  The wheels fell off for the Foresters in the top of the ninth as they committed several errors that led to seven runs for the Pumas, a deficit too large for HC to overcome.  Michelle Skibbe pitched all nine innings and gave up 13 runs, five earned, on 12 hits, while striking out two.  The two losses drop the women to 5-23 on the season.

Foresters Split With St. Francis
April 15, 2003

For the third straight time, the Foresters fail to show up for game one, then heat up the bats to take game two as they fell 12-2 to the Cougars of St. Francis, then returned the favor winning the nightcap 8-4.  In the opener, the Foresters took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Kaley Fode doubled in Michelle Skibbe, but the lead was short-lived.  When the Cougars came to the plate in their half of the first, they scored 10 times before HC could stop the bleeding.  They added two more in the third to put away the Foresters in five innings.  HC again got started early in game two scoring three runs on a two-run homerun by Holly Gibson and a solo shot from Fode.  St. Francis slowly worked their way back, scoring a run in the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth to take a 4-3 lead.  The Foresters then responded with five runs in the top of the seventh with Melanie Zehr's three-run double doing most of the damage.  HC shut down the Cougars in the bottom of the seventh to hand Skibbe her third straight victory.  She went the distance for HC, giving up four runs, two earned, on eight hits and one walk.  The Foresters move to 5-21 on the season and finish their regular season conference schedule at 3-11. 

Foresters 1-1 Against Grace
April 12, 2003

After being shutout 6-0 by the Lancers of Grace College in the first game of the MCC  doubleheader, the Foresters responded with their best hitting performance of the year and picked up the 9-7 win in game two.  With no run support again, Liz Rapone suffered the loss in game one.  She gave up six runs, two of which were earned, on ten hits and four walks.  In game two, HC's bats came alive as they pounded out ten hits, four for extra bases, to get the come-from-behind win.  Down 6-2 after two innings, the Foresters picked up two runs in the bottom of the fourth and five more in the fifth, then held on for the victory.  Michelle Skibbe got the win for HC, her second MCC victory of the week, and helped herself with two hits in the game as well.  Kaley Fode and Holly Gibson each added a pair of hits and two RBIs in the game, and Emily Burkholder added a two-run triple.  The split gives the women an overall record of 4-20 and a 2-10 record in the MCC.

Foresters Split With Goshen
April 10, 2003

The Foresters and the Goshen College Maple Leafs traded shutouts on the day, with Goshen winning game one 5-0 and HC taking game two 3-0.  The Foresters couldn't get things going offensively as they managed just two hits in the opening game and  committed two untimely errors that led to three unearned runs.  In the nightcap, HC scored three runs in the top of the sixth to give freshman pitcher, Michelle Skibbe, the help she needed to record her first career win, a two-hit shutout and her best showing of the season. The win is the Forester's first in the MCC this season (1-9) and moves them to 3-19 on the year.

HC Remains Winless in MCC
April 9, 2003

The Forester's fielding woes continued as they committed 11 errors and dropped another MCC doubleheader, losing 10-3 and 6-0 to the Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan.  In game one, HC gave up nine runs in the third, but only one was earned.  The Foresters got two back in the fourth and one in the fifth, but the deficit proved to be to big.  Melanie Zehr had two hits and one RBI in the game.  In the nightcap, IWU's pitching dominated the Foresters, holding them to just five hits in the shutout.  Kristie Davidson and Holly Gibson were the only bright spots at the plate for HC, each collecting two hits in the game.  The two losses drop the women to 2-18 on the season and 0-8 in the MCC.

Taylor Sweeps HC
April 3, 2003

Errors and lack of offense were problems for the Foresters again as they dropped another doubleheader, losing to Taylor University 6-0 and 9-7.  HC couldn't get anything going offensively in game one as they managed just three hits while committing two errors that led to four unearned runs.  Liz Rapone, again hampered by a lack of support, took the loss for HC.  In the second game, only three of Taylor's nine runs were earned as the Forester defense committed seven miscues to give the game away. Renae Schortgen recorded the loss.  The women fall to 2-16 overall and 0-6 in the MCC. 

Foresters Fall to Bethel
April 1, 2003

In their second conference doubleheader of the season, the Foresters had trouble finding the handle, committing nine errors combined in their 7-4 and 6-0 losses to Bethel College.  In the opener, Liz Rapone again pitched well enough to win, giving up just two earned runs on eight hits, but the defense committed numerous errors in the bottom of the sixth, which led to five unearned runs, and cost them the game.  Kristie Davidson and Holly Gibson each knocked in two for HC.  In game two, the Pilots scored two in the first, which would prove to be all they would need as the Foresters struggled from the plate, going scoreless on just three hits.  Again, despite a solid pitching performance, this time from Michelle Skibbe, HC's defense had five errors which led to four unearned runs.  With the two losses, the women drop to 2-14 overall and 0-4 in the MCC.

Foresters Drop Two to Marian
March 27, 2003

In their first Mid-Central Conference competition of the season, the Foresters managed just four hits in two games and dropped the pair 5-0 and 15-1.  In game one, Liz Rapone held the potent Knight offense to just six hits, but in game two, Marian's bats came alive as they put together 13 hits and four walks on their way to 15 runs.  HC's highlight at the plate came in the bottom of the first of game two, when freshman Holly Gibson hit the first homerun of her career.  With the two losses, the Foresters fall to 2-12 on the season and 0-2 in the MCC.

Foresters Split With Ancilla
March 25, 2003

Back from their trip south, the Foresters hosted Ancilla College and came away with a split.  HC sophomore, Liz Rapone, won the pitcher's dual 1-0 in game one, shutting out the Chargers on four hits and two walks. Rapone also scored HC's only run in the bottom of the fifth on a ground ball by Kala Parthemore.  In game two, the Foresters fell 6-4 when they failed to come up with timely hits with runners in scoring position.  Kristie Davidson banged out two triples in the game.  Freshmen Holly Gibson and Renae Schortgen each had 2 RBIs in the game.  Since Ancilla College is a community college, the games do not count toward HC's record.

Foresters Make Trip South
March 18-21, 2003

The Foresters traveled to Pensacola, Florida in search of some better playing conditions and were able to get seven games under their belts.  The Foresters came close in their first three games, losing the three by a combined total of four runs.  On their first day of play,  HC fell 3-2 to Ottawa University and then came up short at 7-6 against Albright College.  HC faced Albright again the next day and this time fell 7-5.  In their fourth game of the tournament, the Foresters finally got in the win column, defeating Grand View College 4-1.  Liz Rapone went the distance for HC, giving up one run on five hits and two walks.  HC then dropped its final three games, losing 10-1 to the University of West Florida, 11-0 to Spring Hill College and 13-1 to the University of Mobile.  Through twelve games, freshman Holly Gibson is leading the Foresters with a .387 batting average and a .484 slugging percentage.  Junior Kristie Davidson is second on the team with a batting average of .375 and has a team-high eight stolen bases.  The women are 2-10 on the season. 

Foresters Open Season At Shawnee State Tourney
March 14-15, 2003

The Foresters opened their season playing in the Shawnee State Tournament and went 1-4 on the weekend.  HC came out of the gate swinging, pounding out 13 hits on its way to a 9-3 win over Notre Dame College.  Sophomore pitcher Liz Rapone picked up the win for the Foresters.  HC then lost its next four.  The Foresters couldn't come up with the timely hits they needed and fell 6-2 to Malone College, then were shutout 7-0 by host Shawnee State. Walsh University and Madonna University put on impressive offensive displays against HC, recording 17 and 21 hits respectively.  The Foresters fell 13-1 to Walsh and 22-1 to Madonna.