In an old-fashioned rivalry match Wednesday, the Lone Tree Lions, went on the road and beat the Highland Huskies in the regional quarterfinal round of the class 1A softball tournament by a 2-1 score. The Huskies had gotten the better of Lone Tree in the regular season 9-6 and had won the last four meetings. With all-conference candidates Abby Buckman for Lone Tree and Grace Batcheller for Highland in the circle, it was a tough night at the office for both offenses, especially early. The game was scoreless until the fifth, when the Lions broke through in the top half on a solo homer from Sara Branson. The Lions made it 2-0 in the top of the sixth with another run as Whitney Willoz delivered an RBI single to bring in Kelly Marshek with what would turn out to be the winning run. In the bottom of the sixth the Huskies broke through against Buckman for their only tally of the night when Carson Mellinger drove in Dani Laughlin. In a tight spot, protecting a one run lead on the road, Buckman and the Lions ended the Huskies season and celebrated the victory. After the game, Lone Tree head coach Tom Dickey talked about the Branson homer, Buckman’s outing and the excitement of the victory. “I thought Abby (Buckman) was pretty masterful. She was putting pitches right where we want them. She made it tough for Highland to make solid contact. She had a lot of movement. She did a great job keeping them off balance. Our defense also came to play. They got after it, we only  had one error. Sara Branson’s shot was a no-doubter. It probably landed 20 feet over the fence. It was really exciting because we were the underdog going into the game. I have been telling our girls all year that we are a very good softball team.”

Buckman was superb in the circle, going the distance, allowing just four hits and one run while punching out 10. Along with the hits from Willoz and Branson that brought in runs, Buckman and Lillian Miller each had a knock. On the Highland side, Batcheller took the tough luck loss, going five innings, giving up two hits, one run and striking out two. At the plate, the Huskies were led by Laughlin and Payton Brun who were each two for three. With the loss, Highland wraps their year at 9-7. Lone Tree is now 6-9 and travel to Lisbon to meet the No.8 ranked Lions in the regional semifinals of class 1A Friday.