FLEMINGTON, NJ: On a cold and rainy day at the Diamond Nation complex in New Jersey, the Highlanders' bats stayed red-hot in a doubleheader sweep of the Notre Dame of Maryland Gators, 8-0 & 16-0.

GAME ONE: The day started out fairly quietly for both teams, with Cairn holding a modest 2-0 lead over the Gators headed into fifth inning (thanks to a Melissa Good single to score Adriana Shannon on a Gator error, followed by an RBI single from Theresa Beck in the 4th).

Once the Highlanders got to their half of the 5th inning, however, the floodgates burst and Cairn went on a scoring spree. Elizabeth Malarski started the hitting off with a single, and then stole second to put herself in scoring position. No stranger to big moments, senior pitcher Krista Earl stepped to the plate and blasted a triple to deep center just short of the fence to score Malarski. Earl scored on an Emma Holmes single, and then freshman Adriana Shannon found her big moment and send a ball into right field, where it took a strange hop in the outfield and turned into an RBI-triple for Shannon. Jenna Kenyon then singled to left field to score Shannon, followed by a Kacey Wees single and a Theresa Beck double to score Kenyon. Catcher Olivia Nieto worked a walk to load the bases, and then Malarski, who started the inning, finished the game off for the Highlanders, walking in Wees to end the game for a Highlander victory in the 5th inning with a final score of 8-0.

Reigning CSAC Pitcher of the Week Krista Earl threw another gem in game one, a complete game shutout only allowing 3 hits, one walk, and striking out an impressive 8 batters. While the entire team contributed to the Highlander victory, with every starting player earning at least one hit, Jenna Kenyon (2-3, 1 RBI), Adriana Shannon (2-3, 1 RBI), and Theresa Beck (2-4, 2 RBIs) led the way for the Highlanders.

GAME TWO: Cairn carried their momentum into the second game, wasting no time before building up a big lead in the bottom of the first. Kenyon worked a 2-2 count and tripled down the left field line to lead off the inning, followed by a Wees RBI groundout to score Kenyon. Theresa Beck worked a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch, before catcher Olivia Nieto doubled to right field to put Beck on third. Malarski then walked to load the bases. Krista Earl again seized her moment and send another ball deep to right center for a bases-clearing triple, which sprung back-to-back-to-back triples for Cairn; Emma Holmes worked a full count before sending a ball down the right field line for her triple of the inning, and Adriana Shannon smacked a ball in the same direction to end up on third base as well. Now up 6-0, the Highlanders tacked on two more runs before the inning ended, thanks to an RBI single each from Kenyon and Beck.

Both the Highlanders and Gators had scoreless second innings before the Highlanders added more runs in the third. Wees, Nieto, Earl, and Holmes all had hits in the third inning, and were helped out by good baserunning to score five more runs as a team. Starting pitcher Kacey Wees induced three quick groundouts in the Gators' half of the fourth inning, and a Gators' pitching change led to five Highlander walks in the bottom of the fourth, tacking on three more runs. Notre Dame was unable to respond in the top of the fifth, and the game was called with the Highlanders in the lead 16-0 for their second victory of the day. 

Kacey Wees had an excellent outing on the mound, pitching 5.0 shutout innings scattering 5 hits and striking out 5 with no walks. Once again, the Highlanders had a balanced offensive attack at the plate, and were led by Krista Earl, who went 2-4 with 5 RBIs.

Cairn has a short weekend break before facing their next CSAC foe, the Giants of Keystone College, on Monday, April 19th. While this is a home game for the Highlanders, due to the ongoing construction of the Stillman Athletic Complex, this game will take place at a neutral site.