It turned out to be a difficult Senior Day for the Highland softball team.

Immediately after honoring the team’s graduating seniors, the Huskies stepped on the field against Mid Hudson Athletic League Division III leaders, the Spackenkill Spartans and saw their two pitchers get hit around in a 17-3 loss on Wednesday afternoon at Highland High School.

The Huskies led briefly, after the first inning when they answered the Spartans’ sole first inning run with two of their own, taking advantage of wildness by the Spartans’ starting pitcher Cadie Hanaburgh.

Maggie VanValkenburg reached first base on a bunt and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch, and Gillian Dwyer walked and scored on Katie Dauenheimer’s RBI double, giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead.

The Huskies were fortunate to only be behind by a single run as starting pitcher Alexa Pavese had to navigate some early base runners.

She struck out Ella Hanaburgh to start the game before she hit Megan Pillus with a pitch. Singles by Ava Krakower and Clare Sottile loaded the bases. Pavese gave up her only first-inning run on a comebacker by Reese Winkleman to give Spackenkill a 1-0 lead.

Pavese got out of the inning without further damage when she got Cadie Hanaburgh to fly out to Dauenheimer in center field.
Pavese then worked around a pair of base runners in the second inning before the bottom fell out in the third.

Krakower and Sottile singled to start the inning and then Winkleman hit a rope to center field that Dauenheimer made a diving catch on. Cadie Hanaburgh then singled to load the bases and Katrina Carmel singled home two runners to give Spackenkill the lead for good.

Hanaburgh eventually scored on a throwing error.

Pavese ran into trouble again in the fourth inning before giving up five runs before giving way to Winters.

The Spartans then added three in the fifth and four more in the sixth before the game was called due to the run rule.

While the Spackenkill offense was rolling, Spackenkill coach Rachel Abrams gave Cadie Hanaburgh the early hook, sending Pillus to the circle after Hanaburgh walked Sophia Canino to start the second.

Pillus kept the Huskies off the board despite allowing runners in each of the next four innings.

The Huskies broke through again in the seventh sixth inning when Winters singled home Van Valkenburg with the Huskies’ fourth run.

It was the Huskies’ second straight run-in with a division leader as they were shut out, 12-0 by the Division II leading Marlboro Dukes as Ava Del Salto threw a one-hitter.

Dwyer had the Huskies only hit.

They finished the week on Friday with a 17-1 home loss to the Rondout Valley Ganders.