HOUGHTON, NY — After getting roughed up by the Allegheny Gators in game one, 16-0, the Houghton Highlanders overcame a four-run deficit in the second game of the twinbill to earn a split with a dramatic 6-5 win.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Game 1 Score: Houghton – 0 | Allegheny – 16
Game 2 Score: Houghton – 6 | Allegheny – 5
Records: Houghton: 3-6 | Allegheny: 5-4
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, Houghton College | Attendance: 50/50
 
Game 1:
Connor Deasy tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out 10 Houghton batters while not issuing a single walk. 
 
Meanwhile the Allegheny bats rapped out 15 hits, including 11 from the third through the fifth innings.
 
After scoring a pair of runs in the opening frame, the Gators opened the game up with four runs in the third, then followed with a pair of five-run innings in the fourth and fifth.
 
Game 2: 
Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Dylan Boprey and Chris VanCheri hit back-to-back bases loaded singles to left field, scoring three runs to put the Highlanders on top, 6-5.
 
Allegheny picked up where they left off in game one, racing out to a 4-0 advantage with two runs in the first and two more in the third. 
 
Houghton took advantage of a pair of Gator miscues in the bottom of the third to pull within a pair of runs, 4-2.  The Highlanders then trimmed the Allegheny lead to a single run in the fourth when Isaac Mann doubled to left, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an Ian Slate groundout. 
 
Brady Nolin pushed the Allegheny lead back to two in the top of the sixth, crushing his second home run of the day to left center.
 
After Houghton took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Newtown closed the door on the Gators in the seventh to earn his second save of the year.
 
KEY STATS:
>> VanCheri finished the day with six hits, going 2-for-3 in the first game, and a perfect 4-for-4 in the second. 
 
>> Davis McMillan, Mann, and Boprey all added two hits apiece for the Highlanders.
 
>> Newtown lowered his team-leading ERA to 2.08 with his perfect seventh inning in game two.
 
COACH'S CORNER:
"Admittedly, we did not play well in the first game.  I let the team have it a bit after the game and challenged them in a few key areas, particularly our baserunning, our pitchers holding runners on base, cutting down on the number of free bases we allowed, and our overall fight.  I thought they responded very well. 
 
"I challenged Chris [VanCheri] individually to step up his game and he responded in a big way.  Dylan [Boprey] made some excellent defensive plays at short and added another big hit to his cache.  Isaac Mann stroked a couple of beautiful hits today, one to left-center and another to right.  And Jason Kauffeldt and Jose Morales made a couple of big-time defensive plays in the outfield.
 
"Allegheny is a good, well-coached team that threw a couple of very good arms at us today.  They have the potential to do some damage in their final year in the NCAC.  Picking up a win against a quality team like that is a step in the right direction for us.
 
"We still have a lot of work to do, but the grit we showed in coming back in that second game is exactly what our coaching staff has been looking for.  We will continue to try to build on that determination." – Head Coach Brian Reitnour
 
UP NEXT:
The Highlanders remain at home this upcoming Wednesday, when they will host a doubleheader against the Medaille Mavericks at 2:00 p.m.