Huskies dropped by Louisa-Muscatine

It seemed as if a storybook ending was in store for Friday night.

The Highland softball team was stuck in an extra-inning battle during their regional semifinal against Louisa-Muscatine, and their lone senior set the table.

Cheyann Adamson notched a double to lead off the top of the ninth inning, and a two-out double from eighth-grader Haley Sweeting send Adamson home, putting Highland up top.

But L-M wrote their own ending.

After a couple of defensive miscues, L-M eighth-grader Hailey Sanders found a gap with two outs, scoring a pair of Falcon runs to earn the 4-3 walkoff playoff victory.

?I don?t think we were prepared,? Highland softball head coach Carrie Wieland said. ?(L-M freshman Isabelle True) pitched well against us, but we swung at bad pitches and there were some nerves. I really believe we were the better team tonight. Megan (Hoenig) pitched an incredible game. It almost feels like déjà vu right now.?

The loss ends Highland?s season at 20-10, and marks the second straight season their playoff run has ended on a walkoff hit.

The Huskie offense was stifled for much of the game, as their first hit came in the fourth inning.

That infield single by Kelsey Hora was followed by a steal, as she worked her way to third, before an Adamson bunt resulted in an error when L-M tried to get the out at home, allowing Hora to break the scoreless tie.

Adamson worked her way to third, and was driven in by Abbie Miller, giving Highland a 2-0 lead.

In the fifth, a one-out walk and a single put a pair of runners on and L-M?s Maddie Mashek drove them home on a two-run double, tying the game up.

Highland?s offensive struggles continued as they only garnered one hit (Hora?s infield single) through the first seven frames, but the bats were more active in the extra innings.

Highland put a pair of baserunners on in the eighth, but nothing was able to come across.

In the ninth, Adamson notched her leadoff double, before Sweeting collected the go-ahead RBI.

?(It took) patience and believing,? Wieland said. ?Cheyann is so hard on herself, but she?s a great player who always wants to be successful for her teammates. I had to remind her that this is just a game. She finally felt like that was true. Then with Haley, she just needed to stop thinking and hit the ball. I suspected that she was going to do that. She can hit in every game.?

In the bottom of the ninth, an error gave L-M a one-out baserunner, but the Huskies caught a break when a bloop single fell in shallow right field, allowing Highland to get the runner out at second.

With two outs, a sharp ground ball to the shortstop threatened to end the game, but when going for the force out at second base, the throw was bobbled and everyone was safe.

In the next at-bat, Sanders put a ball in the left-field gap and won the game for the Falcons.

?We never make the throw to second in that situation, but that didn?t lose us the game,? Wieland said. ?We had a lot of poor at-bats where we didn?t do the right thing. We win and lose as a team. This is a good team and young team.?

With the loss, Adamson?s career as a Huskie also ended, and Wieland said the senior has been critical to the team?s success over the past few years.

?Having Cheyann on the team has been a godsend,? Wieland said. ?This (year?s team) has probably been the most fun, besides when my daughter was on the team. They are a great group of kids.?

As they look to the 2017 season, Wieland hopes her young team can continue growing together.

?I want to see the team work together in all the other sports,? Wieland said. ?I want them to form a bond in those sports so when they come back out here next year, it?s not a new bond. I?d really like everyone to use this game. It?s a freshman class you don?t get very often. I hope they are successful and stay in shape.?