HOUGHTON, NY— A gem of a pitching performance and a late rally earned the Houghton Highlanders two more Empire 8 conference wins over the visiting Elmira Soaring Eagles on a blustery Friday afternoon at the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex.
Ryan Newtown shut down the Soaring Eagles' bats in game one, picking up his sixth win of the year in 2-1 Houghton win.
The Highlanders then came from behind—a familiar site this season—in the second game, scoring seven runs over the final two frames to defeat Elmira, 12-6.
GAME VITALS
Game 1 Score: Elmira – 1 | Houghton – 2
Game 2 Score: Elmira – 6 | Houghton – 12
Records: Houghton: 17-10 (9-7 Empire 8) | Keuka: 3-23 (1-11 Empire 8)
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, Houghton, NY | Attendance:
Game One: Newtown tossed his fourth complete game of the season, scattering eight hits and giving up one walk while striking out a season-high six batters.
The Houghton righty put up zeroes through the first six frames before finally surrendering a run in the seventh.
Elmira freshman Michael Millross matched Newtown out-for-out through the first four innings until Houghton finally broke the scoreless tie in the fifth. With one out
Chris VanCheri singled, then moved to second base on a wild pitch.
David Wessells and
Joe Gross quickly followed with back-to-back doubles, putting the Highlanders in front, 2-0.
Game Two: After trading runs throughout the first six innings, Elmira led, 6-5, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
With one out, Gross ripped a double into the left-field corner and
Wayne Rode brought him home with a base hit to center, tying the game. After Rode stole second and moved to third on a groundout,
Jason Kauffeldt walked and promptly swiped second base. An Elmira throwing error allowed Rode to score before
Kevin Zientara ripped a double into the left-center gap, scoring two more Houghton runs, and putting the Highlanders up, 9-6.
Houghton added three more in the bottom of the eighth.
Whitney Cook and Wessells led off with back-to-back bunt singles, and Rode tripled to the right field corner, scoring Cook and Wessells. With two outs
Jason Kauffeldt singled to center, scoring the final Houghton run.
Jared Couch picked up the win in relief for the Highlanders, tossing three innings, allowing only one unearned run without allowing a hit, and striking out four.
Couch relieved starter
Hunter Kendall, who struck out a career-high nine batters over six innings of work.
KEY STATS:
>> Wessells collected his seventh straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 in the first game, and 2-for-5 in the second. He currently leads the Highlanders with 39 hits in 27 games, and raised his batting average to .379 on the season. He has also stolen at least one base on four consecutive games, and nine of his last 10.
>> In addition to Wessells, Rode, Zientara and Cook all collected a pair of hits in game two. Rode tied his season-high with four RBI. He has collected at least one base hit in 17 of the 20 games he's played this season, and reached base in 19 of them. He currently leads the Highlanders in batting average (.444), on-base percentage (.500) and slugging (.806).
>> With the 2-1 win in Game One, the Highlanders are now 7-1 in one-run games this season.
COACH'S CORNER:
"It feels good to pick up a pair of wins today. Elmira played tough, but made a few mistakes at the end that certainly cost them. We were able to capitalize on those mistakes and then tack on, which was incredibly important.
"Ryan [Newtown] threw incredibly well in the first game, and we came through with some clutch hits when we needed them. We scuffled a bit, but Ryan kept us in it, and we finally broke through.
"Our bats finally woke up a bit in the second game, and we were able to string some offense together late. Hunter [Kendall] and Jared [Couch] were tough to hit and we gave them the support they needed. I had to ask Jared to come in on short rest a day before he was scheduled to pitch, and even though he had a bit of a rocky start, he settled in an threw really well.
"Elmira continues to find ways to challenge us. Thankfully, we continue to find ways to win games. We're looking forward to another challenge tomorrow." – Coach
Brian Reitnour
UP NEXT:
Because of the amount of rain in the Elmira area this past week, the Highlanders and Soaring Eagles will return to the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for another doubleheader.
