HOUGHTON, NY—After exploding for eight runs in the final four innings to take the first game from the Alfred State Pioneers (4-22), 11-4, the Houghton Highlanders (11-23) were an out away from holding a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning of the second game.
The Pioneers, however, smacked a two-out RBI infield single to tie the game, then put runners on second and third. A foul pop fly looked like it would end the inning, but the ball popped out of the Houghton defender's mitt, and the batter then reached base on a hit-by-pitch, loading the bases for the Pioneers' cleanup hitter Aubri Mosier.
Mosier hit a long fly ball to centerfield that cleared the fence and the bases, and giving the Pioneers a dramatic 8-4 victory and a split on the day.
Game One:
The two teams traded leads three times before the Pioneers pulled ahead, 4-3, in the bottom of the third with an RBI groundout.
That lead, however, would also be short-lived, as the Highlanders struck back in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs, capped by
Jenny Young's triple to right and
Taylor Sile's single to left.
Houghton tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, extending their lead to 8-4 before scoring another three runs on three hits in the top of the seventh.
Highlanders' starter
Tanya Hatton went the distance, allowing only four hits while striking out seven. She allowed only one hit over the final four frames.
Sile finished 4-for-5 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored. Shattell, Phillips and Marti all added two hits apiece in the victory.
Game Two:
Down 1-0 in the second inning,
Justine Phillips and
McKenzie Marti hit back-to-back base hits, scoring
Barbara Richert and
Tanya Hatton to give the Highlanders a 2-1 lead.
The Pioneers then pulled ahead in the bottom of the third, scoring two unearned runs on a pair of base hits.
Houghton regained the lead in the fifth when
Bailey Shattell led off with a single, stole second, and later scored on a double by
Taylor Sile. Sile then came around to score the go-ahead run on a base hit by
Kaylee Jentsch.
The Highlanders held that lead until the bottom of the sixth when the grand slam by Mosier put the Pioneers ahead for good.
Jentsch allowed only one earned run over five innings of work for the Highlanders, allowing seven hits, striking out four, and not allowing a single walk. Jentsch and Shattell also led Houghton with two hits apiece.
Next Time Out:
Houghton returns to the diamond tomorrow afternoon, traveling to Elmira College to take on the Soaring Eagles in a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m.
