LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Opening day tested the Foresters - and then revealed exactly what they're made of. After falling 5-1 to Lindsey Wilson in a tightly-contested opener, Huntington flipped the script in emphatic fashion, leading from start to finish in an 11-5 upset of #4 Georgia Gwinnett at the Grizzly Softball Complex.
The win marks HU's highest-ranked victory since knocking off #2 Marian in 2018 and sends a clear message early in 2026: the Foresters can play with anyone.
Huntington leaves day one of the Grizzly Open at 1-1.
Game One – Lindsey Wilson 5, Huntington 1
The opener was a pitcher's duel through four innings before the Blue Raiders gradually pulled away.
Lindsey Wilson, fresh off a 4-1 win over #24 Rio Grande earlier in the day, scratched across a run in the second and added insurance in the fifth and sixth before sealing it with a two-run double in the seventh.
HU managed four hits, including a double by Khloee Gregory and two hits from Kasey Hickle. The Foresters' lone run came in the sixth when Maddie Goheen reached on a throwing error that allowed Hickle to score.
Natalie Haselby took the loss, allowing two earned runs over 4.1 innings with four strikeouts, while Bethany Haselby finished the final 2.2 frames. Huntington struck out 11 times and left five runners stranded in the setback.
Game Two – Huntington 11, #4 Georgia Gwinnett 5
Short memory. Loud response. Facing a Georgia Gwinnett squad that won 48 games last season and reached the NAIA World Series semifinals, the Foresters came out swinging - and never batted an eye.
HU capitalized immediately on Grizzly miscues, scoring two unearned runs in the first. Goheen ripped an RBI double before Khloee Gregory added a sac fly for a quick 2-0 lead. The second inning broke things wide open. Back-to-back extra-base hits set the tone, including an RBI triple by Makinzie Kline. A wild pitch plated another run, and five walks later the Foresters had built a commanding 6-0 cushion.
Georgia Gwinnett finally got one back, unearned, in the third before things got interesting in the sixth when Samantha Fadely capped off the frame by launching a three-run homer to trim the lead to 6-5. But HU's response was swift and ruthless. Taking advantage of back-to-back Grizzly errors to start the seventh, the Foresters exploded for five runs. Carli Tharp added a sac fly while Maddie Duvall delivered the biggest blow, a base-clearing double, to push the game back out of reach.
Huntington finished with 11 runs on nine hits, drew six walks and collected 10 RBI. Duvall led the charge, going 3-for-4 which included her three-run double in the seventh. Kline went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, while Gregory drove in two and Gaby Hypes added an RBI double and scored twice.
In the circle, junior Kinzie Mollenkopf was steady and unshaken. She went the distance for her first win of the season, scattering six hits while striking out nine. Even after the sixth-inning surge, Mollenkopf shut the door to secure the signature victory.
The Foresters are back in action Saturday at the Grizzly Open, taking on #24 Rio Grande at 10:00 a.m. before a rematch with #4 Georgia Gwinnett at noon.
The Huntington University Foresters compete in 18 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 181 NAIA All-America honors and 631 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. Huntington has a top quartile ranking in the 2026 U.S. News Best Regional Universities Midwest Rankings.
