HOUGHTON, NY—As they have done all season long, the Houghton Highlanders and Utica Pioneers traded blows on Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the Empire 8 conference tournament. 
 
The Highlander rallied from a late three-run deficit in the first game, winning in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off homerun by Kevin Zientara.
 
Utica staved off elimination in the nightcap, pouring on the offense to defeat the Highlanders, 18-5.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Game 1 Score: Utica – 7 | Houghton - 8
Game 2 Score: Utica – 18 | Houghton – 5
Records: Utica: 17-15 | Houghton: 20-13
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, Houghton College | Attendance: 75/78
 
Game 1: After trailing, 7-4, the Highlanders pushed across three runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game.  Houghton reliever, Ryan Newtown, stranded two Pioneers in the top of the ninth before Zientara deposited the second pitch he saw over the left field wall to lead off the bottom half of the inning.
 
Utica opened the scoring in the top of the third when Shamariah McCullough homered to right and Joe Battista singled home John Son to put the Pioneers up, 3-0.  They would tack on another run in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. 
 
Joe Gross led off the bottom of the fourth with a base hit to left, and Wayne Rode followed with his sixth homerun of the year to deep right-centerfield, pulling the Highlanders within a pair of runs.
 
Houghton pulled within a run in the fifth after Chris VanCheri tripled to right, then scored on a wild pitch.
 
A two-run blast by Jason Story in the sixth put the Pioneers back up by three, but Houghton again trimmed the lead to two when Rode tripled to left and scored on another wild pitch.
 
After Utica tacked on another run in the top of the eighth, the Highlanders manufactured three runs on a pair of hits off Utica's bullpen. An RBI double by Gross, and a pair of back-to-back sacrifice flies by Jason Kauffeldt and Dylan Boprey tied the game, setting the stage for Zientara in the ninth.
 
Newtown moved to 7-1 on the year, throwing three innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits, no walks, and striking out one.
 
Griffin Baur earned a no-decision for the Pioneers, despite pitching seven strong innings, striking out 12 while not issuing a single walk.
 
Game 2: What looked like a promising start for the Highlanders became all Pioneers down the stretch. 
 
After Houghton took an early 2-1 lead in the first, Utica starter James Roeschlaub settled in and held the Highlanders at bay long enough for the Pioneers bats to do some damage.  Roeschlaub put up five straight scoreless innings before Houghton broke through with three runs in the seventh.
 
Meanwhile, the Pioneers offense scored three in the third and two in the fifth, driving Houghton starter Hunter Kendall from the game.  Utica proceeded to put up 12 more runs in their final four at bats, capitalizing on 13 hits, 14 walks and six hit-by-pitches.
 
 
KEY STATS:
>> Rode went 4-for-7 on the day with two walks, a single, double, triple and homerun.  His homerun was his sixth of the season, a Houghton single-season record, and the ninth of his career, tying him with Tage Johnson for first place all-time.  Rode now has 13 multi-hit games this season.  He leads the team with a .427 batting average.
 
>> Zientara's homerun was the first of his career.
 
>> Houghton's walk-off win in the first game was the fourth time this season they have accomplished the feat and the second time they have done so to Utica.  They are 8-1 in one-run games this season, and have won 10 games in their final at bat.
 
COACH'S CORNER:
"We have played tough games with Utica for years, and this season has been no different.  To see us split again today is unsurprising. 
 
"I was incredibly proud of how we battled in the first game.  We played well defensively, and put together some quality at bats down the stretch.  What we did in the eighth and ninth was simply incredible. 
 
"Kevin [Zientara] has come through with some clutch hits over the past few weeks and this was the biggest of them all. 
 
"The second game was disappointing.  We were pretty sloppy and they punished us for it.
 
"Tomorrow is a new day and our guys and I are looking forward to it.  We've had great weather and a pair of teams that push each other to be their best.  What more could you ask of playoff baseball?" –Coach Brian Reitnour
 
UP NEXT:
The Highlanders and Pioneers return to the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex for the rubber match at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow.  The winner will advance to play #1 seed St. John Fisher in Rochester next weekend.