HOUGHTON, NY— In one of the craziest games to ever take place at the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, the Highlanders Highlanders remained undefeated with a "walk-off", 15-14, victory over the visiting RIT Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
 
Up 13-8 heading into the top of the ninth inning, the Highlanders imploded, giving up six runs, and the lead, on only two hits.  With the bases loaded and two outs, Houghton designated hitter, Davis Mcmillan, entered the game and struck out the final batter to keep the Tigers from doing further damage.
 
With Joe Gross at second base for the Highlanders in the bottom of the ninth, Zach Parr drew a two-out walk, bringing Mcmillan to the plate.  RIT pitcher Liam Barry threw two quick strikes to put Mcmillan in a hole.  After ball one, Mcmillan laced a base hit into right field.  Gross rounded third and scored easily, but Parr hesitated rounding second, then ran through a stop-sign and headed for third.  As Parr slide into third, the relay throw from the Tiger shortstop ricocheted off the Highlander first baseman's shoulder into foul territory.  Parr jumped up and raced home, sliding in just ahead of the throw to give the Highlanders the dramatic win.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Score: RIT – 14 | Houghton - 15
Records: RIT: 1-1 | Houghton: 4-0
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, Houghton College | Attendance: 0
 
KEY STATS:
>> Houghton scored at least one run in all nine innings of play, thanks in large part to 19 base hits, seven of which went for extra bases, and nine RIT walks.
 
>> RIT stranded 18 baserunners after tallying 12 hits and receiving 16 walks from Houghton pitchers.
 
>> In addition to picking up his first win on the mound, and the game-winning hit, Mcmillan went 3-for-6 on the day with a triple and two RBI.
 
>> David Wessells, Joe Gross, Wayne Rode, and Sebastian Rodriguez all added three hits apiece for the Highlanders, while Parr also added two hits and three walks.  Wessells now has eight hits through the first four games of the season, giving him 151 for his career, 11 behind all-time Houghton leader Tage Johnson.
 
>> Patrick Blackall, Chris Reilly, Ian Libby and Luke McNamara all had two hits apiece for the Tigers.
 
>> The Houghton win is the first time the Highlanders have defeated RIT since joining the NCAA.

COACH'S CORNER:
"I think I aged about 10 extra years in the ninth inning.  That was a crazy game.  But I'm incredibly proud of our team.  Even after we gave up the lead in the ninth, we never quit, but just went about our business the same way we had all game long. 
 
"RIT is a very good team, who are well-coached and play the game the right way.  I give them a lot of credit.  They never rolled over but just kept coming at us. Our guys answered, however, kept answering, and I'm incredibly proud of them for that.
 
"We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend, and I'm excited to see where we go.  One thing is for certain, we will be fun to watch.  I can't wait to get back to work on Monday." – Coach Brian Reitnour