HOBOKEN, NJ— Victor Cavalieri set a new Houghton baseball career record, striking out nine batters over six innings to surpass Seth Cornell, but the Highlanders lost to the Stevens Ducks in the opening round of the Empire 8 conference championship, 4-2.
The Highlanders grabbed a two-run lead in the fourth after
Taylor Huntsman singled to center field,
Tage Johnson was hit by a pitch, and
John Zamites ripped a two-RBI double into right-center.
Stevens took the lead in the fifth, touching Cavalieri for three runs on four hits.
Houghton threatened in the top of the sixth, placing their first two hitters on base, but failed to score.
After the Ducks picked up an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth, Houghton once again put the tying run on base with two outs but could not push a run across.
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 2 | Stevens - 4
Records: Houghton: 16-16 | Stevens: 26-15
Venue: Dobbelaar Field, Stevens Institute of Technology| Attendance:
KEY STATS:
>> Cavalieri's nine strikeouts give him 211 for his career, surpassing the old mark of 207 established by Cornell in 2015. This season he has 100 strikeouts in 60 innings.
>>
David Wessells, Huntsman, Zamites and
Nick Melchiore each collected a hit apiece for the Highlanders.
COACH'S CORNER:
"We were definitely a little rusty today. It's really tough to face one of the best pitchers in the region when you haven't seen live pitching in a couple of weeks, but our guys battled all day long. It's the difference between us squaring balls up and fouling them off.
"Vic and Holden [Deres] both pitched well for us, but give credit to Stevens, especially to Charlie Ruegger, he pitched a great game and they came up with hits and defensive plays when they needed them most.
"Tomorrow is a new day. We'll try to get some rest tonight and come back ready to compete in the morning. I know our guys will be ready to go." –Coach
Brian Reitnour
UP NEXT:
Houghton returns to Stevens tomorrow to take on St. John Fisher, who lost the second game to Ithaca, 17-11, at 10:00 a.m.
