HOUGHTON, NY—After taking the first game of the doubleheader, 5-2, the Houghton Highlanders watched the Pitt-Bradford Panthers overcome a 4-0 deficit in the sixth inning to win game two, 6-5.
Game 1: Freshman pitcher
Garrett Alread (Victor, NY, Victor) limited the Panthers to four hits over 6.1 innings of work, striking out four to pick up his second win of the year.
The Panthers took an early lead in the second inning when four consecutive walks and a wild pitch plated two runs.
The Highlanders answered back in the bottom half of the inning when
Jens Omdal (Olympia, WA, River Ridge) drove in
Ethan Duryea (Concord, OH, Cornerstone Christian) with an RBI single and later scored on a fielder's choice.
Houghton took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth when
Chris Welch (Denham Springs, LA, Denham Springs) tripled,
Michael Knapp (Brockport, NY, Brockport) doubled, and
Tage Johnson (Jamestown, NY, Frewsburg) capped the inning with a two-out RBI double.
Welch and Knapp teamed up again in the sixth. This time Welch doubled and Knapp tripled to score the insurance run.
In the seventh
Lucas Cornell (Almond, NY, Alfred-Almond) closed the door, recording the final two outs for his third save of the year.
Knapp posted three hits and Welch two, as the Highlanders outhit the Panthers, 10-5.
Pat James had two hits and stolen base for the Panthers.
Game 2: Houghton opened the scoring in the third when Johnson doubled in Knapp and
Tim Brizzell (Saratoga Springs, NY, Saratoga Central Catholic), putting the Highlanders up by two.
In the bottom of the fifth the Highlanders picked up two more runs when Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring
John Zamites (Olean, NY, Olean), and
Bryan Hodge (Thornton, CO, Community Christian) singled to right, plating Knapp.
Meanwhile Houghton starter
Victor Cavalieri (Rochester, NY, Northstar Christian) cruised through the first four innings without allowing a run, giving up only two hits and one walk while striking out two.
Ned Monthie (Albany, NY, Christian Brothers Academy) took over on the hill in the fifth and continued where Cavalieri left off, retiring the side.
In the sixth, however, the Panthers pounded out four hits and took advantage of two walks and a key throwing error that would have ended the inning, scoring five runs, the last two off a clutch triple to right-center by freshman Kevin Sompel.
Pitt-Bradford added an insurance run in the top of the seventh, again taking advantage of three walks and an RBI groundout.
Houghton quickly loaded the bases in the bottom half of the final frame with nobody out. A high popup to the back edge of the infield landed safely and the runner from third broke for home, thinking he was forced to run because there had been no infield fly call by the umpires. He was cut down at the plate and the umpires also called the batter out, claiming they did not need to make a verbal call.
An infield single by Hodge scored a run and put the tying run at third.
Aaron Burnside (Albion, NY, Albion) pinch-ran for Hodge and quickly stole second to put the winning run in scoring position, but that's where he would stay as Panthers pitcher Ryan Boyer struck out the final batter to end the game.
Hodge finished with two hits for the Highlanders, while Johnson drove in three.
Austin Parent and Brody Wood each collected two hits for the Panthers. Boyer picked up the win, striking out three while allowing three walks and eight hits.
