FAIRLESS HILLS, PA - Despite just missing out on 2021 CSAC playoffs, the Highlanders ended their 2021 season on a high note, sweeping the UVF Patriots 13-3 & 16-0.

The Highlanders have faced an enormous amount of adversity this year, including COVID-related delays and the loss of their home field due to construction on the future Stillman Athletic Complex. Despite all these challenges, Cairn has continued to battle with their opponents, coming up just a few runs shy of securing the first CSAC playoff spot in program history. Saturday was no exceception, as the Highlanders made sure to send off their two graduating seniors, pitcher Krista Earl and outfielder Melissa Good, on a high note with two dominating wins.

GAME ONE: Headed into the bottom of the second inning, Cairn and Valley Forge were tied at one run apiece. A long bottom of the second went very much in Cairn's favor, however, as the Highlanders scored seven runs on six hits and three Patriot errors to take a commanding 8-1 lead, which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. UVF added two runs of their own in the top of the third, but Theresa Beck, Krista Earl, and Elizabeth Malarski all recorded RBIs in Cairn's half of the third to stretch the lead to 11-1. A Grace Hardesty single to center field scored two more runs in the fourth, and starting pitcher Elizabeth Malarski induced a popup, a strikeout, and a lineout in the top of the fifth to trigger the run rule and end the first game with a final score of Cairn 13, UVF 3.

Elizabeth Malarski pitched a complete (5.0 inning) game and scattered three runs while striking out three. At the plate, the Highlanders got production from top to bottom, as every Cairn player recorded at least one hit. Theresa Beck was 3-4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, and Grace Hardesty had perhaps her best game of the season, going 2-3 with 4 RBIs and a run scored.

GAME TWO: The Highlanders capitalized on their momentum from the first game and racked up an early 4-0 lead in the first inning on a few Patriot errors. After adding another run in the second, Cairn caught fire at the plate in the third. Olivia Nieto tripled to lead off the inning and scored on the next play thanks to an Adriana Shannon single, and back-to-back doubles from Jenna Kenyon and Kacey Wees tacked on two more runs, making it 8-0 Highlanders. In the fourth, Elizabeth Malarski got on base with a single to left field, bringing Olivia Nieto to the plate, who hit a bomb over the fence for a 2 RBI-homer, her first of the year. The Highlanders loaded the bases later in the fourth, scoring six more runs on walks and well-placed singles to go up 16-0, the final score of game two.

The Highlanders once again got complete team production on offense, recording 11 hits and 12 RBIs as a team. Olivia Nieto led the Highlanders at the plate, going 3-4 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Senior outfielder Melissa Good was 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
 
In her last outing ever in the circle, senior pitcher Krista Earl put on a show, solidifying her status as the most talented pitcher to ever don a Highlander uniform. Earl pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout, striking out six to add to her record Cairn career total.