HOBOKEN, NJ—The Houghton Highlanders season came to an end in the Empire 8 conference tournament this afternoon at the hands of the St. John Fisher Cardinals, 13-7.
 
Houghton drew first blood in the first inning when shortstop Jeremy Newswanger ripped a solo homerun to left field and Ben Closson drove home Tage Johnson with a single to center. 
 
The Highlanders looked the open the scoring in the second, loading the bases, but could not push a run across. 
 
Holden Deres maintained that score into the fourth inning, when the Cardinals plated a pair to tie the game while hitting only one ball out of the infield, then scored another in the fifth, again picking up a pair of infield hits, before Deres worked out of a bases-loaded jam.
 
After Fisher scored two more in the top of the seventh, then exploded for five more in the eighth to give the Cardinals an eight-run lead, Houghton began to mount a comeback.  A bases-loaded walk to Taylor Huntsman, a two-RBI single by Johnson, and a clutch double down the right field line by Ethan Duryea plated five runs for the Highlanders, drawing the score to within three.
 
The Cardinals, however, would not go quietly in the ninth, scoring three more runs to put them up by six.  Houghton could not find an answer in the ninth, ending their season.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Score: Houghton – 3 | St. John Fisher – 16
Records: Houghton: 16-17  | St. John Fisher: 27-15
Venue: Dobbelaar Field, Stevens Institute of Technology| Attendance: 188
 
KEY STATS:
>> The Cardinals left 15 runners on base, while the Highlanders stranded 11.
 
>> Tage Johnson finished his career on a high, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
 
>> Newswanger and Closson both added two hits apiece for the Highlanders.
 
>> The game saw a total of 399 pitches, 201 by the Cardinals and 198 by the Highlanders.
 
COACH'S CORNER:
"Like we've done all year long, we competed to the very end, and I'm incredibly proud of our guys.
 
"Holden [Deres] battled today and gave us everything he had.  Considering that he pitched two innings yesterday, it was exactly what we had hoped for.
 
"We had some bad luck in a couple of innings where they racked up some perfectly placed infield hits, coupled with some walks and hit-by-pitches.  Then they also did what they so often so, and mashed the ball a few times in the late innings.  [Fisher's] a really good ball club.
 
"We're definitely going to miss our five seniors.  They contributed so much, not only to our success on the field this year, but also to the growth, development and maturation of our younger players and our program. 
 
"Overall, though, we were a fairly young team this year.  My hope is that those younger guys learned from our seniors and will continue to build on that legacy.
 
"This is a tremendous group of guys.  They worked hard, loved each other, and played for God's glory.  Our parents and families formed an unbelievable bond.  It was a joy to come to work every day.  This is a team to remember, and a season I did not want to end." –Coach Brian Reitnour