Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 The Highlanders opened their season last week, traveling south and making their way back up the east coast, sweeping past the competition and winning 6 of their 8 games to open the season.

The Highlanders opened the trip with a tough squad from the University of Southern Virginia, dropping both games to the hosting Spartans. In game one, the Highlanders started off slowly, trailing 0-2 for the first five innings until the Highlanders slugger and NCAA statistical leader with 0 strikeouts last season, Katelyn Reiss, came through for Cairn, singling in Haley Tinney for Cairn's first run of the season. Unfortunately for the Highlanders, Southern Virginia's bats woke up in the bottom frame, as the Spartans plated 7 runs to take the first contest 9-1. Reiss tallied another two RBIs in the second game, while Meagan Maratita and Carly Ryle each notched hits to assist the Highlander offense. Despite the improved offensive production, Cairn fell in the second game 3-11.

Cairn broke out against Trinity University, winning both games by commanding margins with a 14-4 victory in the first, and an 11-0 shutout in the second. The Highlanders used a six run first inning, highlighted by three triples by Meagan Maratita, Jenna Alshay, and Angela Paskitti to take command of the first game and coast to the victory. In the afternoon's second game, Krista Earl and Shay Walker combined to throw 5 hitless innings and completely blank the Trinity offense. The combined no-hitter was an incredibly impressive effort, made even better after the tough showing in the first two games of the trip.

The Highlanders kept up their hot play against the Christendom Crusaders, with Krista Earl picking up another victory in game one with 12 strikeouts. At the plate, the Highlanders top of the lineup, McKenna Schindele and Haley Tinney, each garnered three hits to set the plate for the Cairn offense. The Highlanders and Crusaders played evenly over the first 6 innings, until a five run breakout in the top of the 7^th sealed the deal for Cairn's third win of the season. In the day's second game, Cairn used two massive innings to take the lead and fly past Christendom for a 20-6 victory. McKenna Schindele, Meagan Maratita, and Angela Paskitti each tallied two hits, while Carly Ryle finished with 3 RBIs to put the team ahead.

Coming back north, the Highlanders faced off against the University of Valley Forge on an incredibly chilly afternoon- taking both games, winning the first 19-8 and the second 11-0. Cairn plated 9 runs in the first inning, with Meagan Maratita knocking home 3 of her game-high 6 RBIs. Right fielder Jenna Alshay also played an excellent game with a perfect 3-3 performance at the plate and 6 RBIs of her own. Krista Earl picked up her sixth win of the season in the day's second game, shutting down Valley Forge and limiting the Patriots to only two hits over five innings.

Due to a great deal of inclement weather, the Highlanders will have to stay tuned as their schedule is constantly shifting after yet another storm this week. The Highlanders will hope to be back in action on Monday against Gallaudet University, beginning at 3:00 PM.