BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Houghton College softball team fell to Buffalo State in a mid-week doubleheader Wednesday, March 24. The Highlanders came up short in the first game, 11-9, before falling to a 11-1 decision in five innings during the second. Houghton drops to 0-4 on the season while the Bengals move to 2-2.
 
Game 1
Houghton 9, Buffalo State 11

Hannah Cybart got the bats going for the Highlanders in the first with a double before advancing to third on a Caitlyn Cybart single. Grace Thompson drew a walk to load the bases, putting Houghton in prime scoring position. The Highlanders took advantage of two Bengals field errors to put them on the board, 2-0.

Houghton kept the momentum going in the second where it expanded its lead to seven with a four-run showing. H. Cybart tallied her first RBI of the season with a single to right field which was followed up with a line drive down the left line by C. Cybart to tally Houghton's fifth run. The Highlanders capitalized on a pair of wild pitches to get both the Cybarts across the plate.

Buffalo State answered back with seven runs of its own in the bottom of the second before tacking on another two in the third. Houghton chipped away at the Bengals' lead in the top of the fourth when H. Cybart scored off an Alisabeth Crandall single up the middle.

It was relatively quiet until the bottom of the fifth when the Bengals expanded its lead to three with a two-run inning. Houghton put itself back within two in the sixth with H. Cybart's fourth run of the game, but that would be as close as the Highlanders could get.

Game 1 Notes

• H. Cybart had a stand out day as she went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with tallying four runs an an RBI to her stat line.
• Also having a perfect day at the plate was C. Cybart who went 3-for-3 to go along with a pair of runs and RBIs.
• Crandall and Hannah Haskell also produced hits for the Highlanders.
• Both Elise Swanson and Crandall contributed an RBI to Houghton's five for the game.
• On the mound, Kayla Loomis and Anna Frerichs (0-1) split three innings of work between them. Both gave up six hits with Loomis striking out two.

 
Game 2:
Houghton 1, Buffalo State 11

The Highlanders struggled to keep up with the Bengals' bats in the second game as they were out-hit 14 to three. Buffalo State set the tone with a seven-run bottom of the first performance. Houghton scored its lone run in the second with a Swanson double to left center. The Bengals answered straight back with a three-run inning before tallying another run in the fourth.

Game 2 Notes

• Crandall led the way at the plate with two hits with Swanson adding another.
• Swanson tallied her second RBI of the season.
• In the pitching circle, Crandall (0-2) and Loomis both saw action with Crandall seeing her second loss on the season.

 
The Highlanders return to the field on Saturday, March 27^th when they host Cazenovia for a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.