At KCII we’re counting down the top 10 biggest stories in area high school sports for the 2024-2025 academic year. At number six is Highland Huskies softball using a late-season winning streak to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2014.

An extremely young Highland team, with only three players older than freshman year, got off to a predictably uneven start to the softball season as they settled in. The Huskies lost six of their first 11 games, but a 5-3 win over an experience Columbus squad was the start of a significant turnaround.

Despite close losses to Lone Tree and Louisa-Muscatine, Highland was finding new life as the calendar turned to July. A 4-3 victory over Pekin on the final day of June would begin a four-game winning streak to close the regular season.

The Huskies started the postseason with an 8-0 win over English Valleys, but the statement victory came against North Linn on July 9th in the regional quarterfinals.

Three runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth would blow open what would end up being an 8-2 win over the team that won the Class 1A state championship in 2023.

Three nights later, Highland used two runs in the third inning and a brilliant pitching performance from eighth-grader Jillian Stranksy to edge out BGM 2-1 in the semifinals.

The Huskies would face Iowa Valley in the Region 4 final on July 14th, and while they grabbed the initial lead, the Tigers scored twice in the fourth inning to lead 2-1.

Fortunately, Highland regrouped in the bottom half to tie the game up, and a two-run home run by senior Lilly Barre would prove to be a big blow down the stretch, as the Huskies scored twice in the fifth and sixth innings each and held on to defeat Iowa Valley 6-3.

Stranksy was the straw that stirred the drink during Highland’s eight-game win streak, going 7-0 with a 1.24 earned-run average and 40 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched.

Barre and freshman Kamryn Fink paced the lineup during the streak by each posting a .500 batting average, with Fink scoring 11 runs and stealing 11 bases and Barre collecting nine runs batted in as part of a senior season where she hit six total homers and led the team with 27 RBI.

Highland would have the streak end by losing both games at the state tournament in Fort Dodge. Despite briefly taking the lead with three runs in the third inning, the Huskies would fall to number-one-ranked Wayne in the Class 1A quarterfinals 7-4.

While they nearly mounted a stellar comeback, Highland also lost to Newell-Fonda 7-6 in their consolation game. The Huskies would end up with eight all-conference honorees, including Barre, Fink, Stransky, freshmen Maiya Singbeil and Kayce Schnoebelen and eighth-graders Adley Sweeting, Sienna Bell and Kinzie Ruess.

Fink also earned a first-team all-state selection for hitting .424 with 35 runs scored and 40 steals, while Barre got a second-team nod.

Keep listening to KCII and check online at KCIIradio.com as the countdown continues Monday of the Top 10 Area High School Sports Stories of 2024-2025.