The Houghton College baseball team won their first two home games of the year today against the Alfred State College Pioneers in a doubleheader that also featured the first Highlander home run at their two-year-old field.

In game one the Highlanders put up a 9-4 win over the Pioneers, led by strong offensive performances by Michael Kerr (Brentwood, TN) and Enrico Sukhdeo (Georgetown, Guyana, Montreat College).

Houghton opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first when Michael Knapp (Brockport, NY) grounded out to the shortstop and scored Sukhdeo.

In the third the Highlanders' offense exploded. Sukhdeo led off the inning with a double. Then Christopher McKay (Oakville, ON, Canada) reached on an error that allowed Sukhdeo to score from second. After Knapp's base hit in between first and second, Kerr's 2 RBI triple gave the Highlanders a 4-0 lead. Trenton Unverdorben (Portville, NY) flied out to score Kerr.

After the Pioneers plated two runs in the top of the fourth, Kerr brought two more teammates home with a ground rule double in the bottom half of the inning to give Houghton a 7-2 advantage.

The Pioneers scored 2 more runs in the fifth inning, but the Highlanders put 2 insurance runs on the board in the bottom of the 6th to grab the win.

Starter Kevin Cassar (Mississauga, ON, Canada, Briar Cliff University) pitched 6 solid innings, striking out 5, while allowing 5 hits and 3 earned runs. Kyle Flemington (Burlington, ON, Canada) finished off the Pioneers in the seventh striking out two Pioneer batters..

In game two the Highlanders offensive continued to shine as the team grabbed a 7-2 victory. The contest was marked by the first-ever Highlander home run at their home confines. Sophomore Garret Kirkpatrick (York, PA, Central York) had the honor, sending a solo shot over the fence for the team's final run of the night. It was also the first career homer for Kirkpatrick and the team's first round tripper of the season through 10 games.

The Highlanders opened up the scoring in the first with back-to-back triples by Trenton Unverdorben (Portville, NY) and Brett Rapan (Bolivar, NY), which gave the Highlanders a 3-0 lead.

The Pioneers scored a run in the top of the second, but the Highlanders answered right back in the bottom half of the inning. Sukhdeo had an RBI single that scored Tage Johnson (Jamestown, NY), then McKay hit a triple that scored Sukhdeo from third. Knapp would score McKay from third on a ground out to the shortstop to give the Highlanders a comfortable 6-1 lead.

The Pioneers pulled 1 run back in the top of the 6th before Kirkpatrick's historic swing ended the scoring in the bottom half of the inning.

The Highlanders were led on the mound by Jared Knowlton (Gouverneur, NY) who earned the win, only giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs during his 5.2 innings of work. Freshman Victor Cavalieri (Rochester, NY) and senior Chad Muise (Brantford, ON, Canada, North Park Collegiate) each pitched two-thirds of an inning in relief.

Houghton is back in action at home on Wednesday when they host RIT in a 4 p.m. game.