The Houghton College baseball team lost 5-4 and 7-6 to the Utica College Pioneers Saturday afternoon in Utica, NY.

In game one the Highlanders were led by Michael Kerr (Brentwood, TN, Hamburg ) and Tage Johnson (Jamestown, NY, Frewsburg). Kerr went two for two with a two run homerun and Johnson went two for four with a RBI. Seth Cornell (Almond, NY, Alfred-Almond) was credited with the loss and Joshua Webb earned the win for the Pioneers.

In game two the Highlanders comeback was led by Enrico Sukhdeo (Georgetown, Guyana, Ashbrook), Brett Rapan (Bolivar, NY, Bolivar-Richburg ), and Christopher McKay (Oakville, ON, Canada, Homeschool). Sukhdeo went two for five with two RBI, Rapan went two for three, and McKay went one for three with two RBI. Kevin Cassar (Mississauga, ON, Canada, Our Lord of Mount Carmel) was credited with the loss and Ryan Watson earned the win.

The two losses made the Highlanders 15-19 and the Pioneers improved to 17-11.

In game one the Highlanders got on the board in the first when Johnson hit a single that scored Kerr from second.

After a scoreless second inning the Highlanders scored another run in the top of the third when Johnson came up to the plate with the bases loaded and lined into a double play, but Michael Knapp (Brockport, NY, Brockport) scored from third and gave the Highlanders a 2-0 lead.

The Pioneers took the lead in the fourth when DeMartino hit a three run homerun, but Kerr answered the homer with a two run homer of his own in the top of the fifth to give the Highlanders a 4-3 lead.

After the Highlanders failed to score any insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings the Pioneers scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the seventh to take game one by the score of 5-4.

In game two the Pioneers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after one inning of play.

The Highlanders cut the Pioneer lead to two runs in the second when Trenton Unverdorben (Portville, NY, Portville) scored from third on a wild pitch.

The Pioneers scored two runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 7-1 lead.

In the sixth Garret Kirkpatrick (York, PA, Central York) came up with the bases loaded and two outs. He was hit by a pitch and scored Rapan from third. Then McKay hit a two RBI double and Sukhdeo followed that up with a two RBI single to make the score 7-6.  

In the top of the eighth the Rapan led off the inning with a double to right center, but the Highlanders failed to capitalize.

The Highlanders take on D'Youville College in a doubleheader Tuesday in Buffalo starting at 2 p.m.