PITTSFORD, NY— A five-run second inning set the tone as the St. John Fisher Cardinals defeated the Houghton Highlanders in the first of a three-game set, 16-3.
The Cardinals did not hit the ball out of the infield in the second, but brought their bats to work thereafter, eventually accumulating 13 hits.
Houghton put up a pair of runs in the fourth when
Tage Johnson walked and
Ethan Duryea doubled down the third base line.
Ben Closson then followed with a shot to the left field wall that scored Johnson and Duryea scored on a balk.
The Highlanders picked up their third run in the fifth when Duryea picked up his second double of the afternoon, this time a shot down the right field line that scored
Taylor Huntsman.
Fisher pushed their lead to 13-3 with six runs in the bottom of the fifth, then added two in the seventh and another in the eighth.
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 3 | St. John Fisher – 16
Records: Houghton: 15-14 (8-8 Empire 8) | St. John Fisher: 24-9 (12-3 Empire 8)
Venue: Dugan Yard, St. John Fisher College | Attendance: 227
KEY STATS:
>> Duryea finished 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles while
Nick Melchiore also went 2-for-4.
>> Huntsman smashed his team-leading 15
th double of the year in the sixth inning.
>>
Tage Johnson picked up his 156
th career base hit, a two-strike single through the right side, leaving him one hit short of the all-time Houghton career record set by Michael Knapp in 2015.
COACH'S CORNER:
"This is a game we'd like to forget very quickly. St. John Fisher is always tough, and in order to compete with them you have to bring your 'A-game.' We did not do that today. We put ourselves in a hole early and couldn't climb out.
"Who knows, if Ben's [Closson] ball goes three feet farther, maybe it's a different ballgame, but I don't want to play 'what-if.' We simply didn't play the way that we've played for the past two months. Luckily, we're right back at it tomorrow with another chance to compete." –Coach
Brian Reitnour
UP NEXT:
Houghton returns to Pittsford tomorrow for a doubleheader with the Cardinals beginning at 12:00 p.m.