HOUGHTON, NY—The Houghton Highlanders picked up a pair of non-conference wins over the visiting Hilbert Hawks tonight.  The Highlanders picked up the first win on the back of a strong, nine-strikeout pitching performance from Brandon Joslin, then rode an 11-hit attack to victory in the nightcap.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Game 1 Score: Hilbert – 1 | Houghton – 5
Game 2 Score: Hilbert – 7 | Houghton – 9
Records: Hilbert: 2-10 | Houghton: 5-8
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex Baseball Field, Houghton College | Attendance: 65/65
 
Game 1: Josling tossed 6.1 innings, allowing only three hits and two walks to his first victory of the season. 
 
Houghton scored all the runs they would need in the second inning when Wayne Rode, Caleb Philips and Joe Gross hit consecutive base hits and Colin Kloc brought home the first run with a walk.  A sacrifice fly by Nick Melchiore brought in the second run, and a two-out base hit to right by Jeremy Newswanger plated two more.
 
Two innings later Newswanger picked up his third RBI of the game on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze, scoring Whitney Cook.
 
Joslin cruised into the seventh but began to scuffle, walking two and giving up a base hit.  With Hilbert threatening, Griffin Tubbs closed the door, picking up the final two outs of the game on the mound for the Highlanders.
 
Game 2: Trailing by a run early, Houghton struggled to find offensive momentum until the fourth inning when Rode reached on a hit-by-pitch and Philips roped a double down the left field line to tie the score.
 
Houghton picked up three more in the fifth after Zach Parr—who entered the game in the previous inning for an injured Newswanger—ripped a base hit into right field and Rode followed with a two-RBI double off the right field wall.
 
Hilbert responded with four runs on three hits in the top of the sixth to take a 5-4 lead, but Houghton answered with authority in the bottom half of the inning.  With a pair of pinch runners on second and third a pitch deflected off the catcher, scoring Josiah Nowak, but Evan Bender alertly noticed the catcher momentarily could not find the ball and aggressively broke for home.  While the ball beat him to the plate, Bender slid around the pitcher's glove, lifted his left hand and slammed it home without a tag, giving the Highlanders the lead.
 
Three batters later, Parr came up big again, driving in another run on yet another base hit.  Ben Closson followed with a two-RBI base hit to center and the Highlanders were up 9-5.
 
The Hawks would not go quietly.  With Tubbs on in relief for the second time on the day, Austin O'Shei and Griff DeMayo hit back-to-back doubles.  A sacrifice fly would eventually plate DeMayo and the Houghton lead was down to two. 
 
With runners on first and third, Tubbs struck out the final batter on a high fastball, sealing the Highlanders' second win of the day.
 
KEY STATS:
>> Joslin lowered his team-leading ERA to 1.77.  He now has 25 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.
 
>> Parr picked up the first two hits of his college career, going 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored.
 
>> Wessells posted four hits on the day, two in each game, while Rode, Gross and Kloc each picked up a pair of hits.

COACH'S CORNER:
"I'm incredibly proud of how our guys battled today.  We had a couple of injuries and needed guys to step up, and they did.
 
"Zach Parr and Evan Bender came off the bench and made immediate impacts because they had their heads in the game.  Colin Kloc and Kevin Zientara haven't been regulars, but they each gave big contributions today.
 
"Brandon [Joslin] was outstanding in game one.  He put the team on his back, and when he started to fatigue, Griffin Tubbs picked up right where [Joslin] left off.
 
"Hilbert never gave up.  They battled us all night long.  I'm incredibly proud that every time they challenged us our guys had an answer.  We kept fighting.
 
"We keep getting better.  Fisher is going to be very good, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.  We'll take the week to get some guys healthy and come out swinging on Friday." –Coach Brian Reitnour

UP NEXT:
The Highlanders are off until Friday, March 22 when they host the St. John Fisher Cardinals in the first conference series of the year at the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex.  First pitch is slated for 5:00 p.m.