HOUGHTON, NY—The Houghton Highlanders pulled off a pair of one-run victories in their last at-bats, defeating the visiting University of Pittsburgh-Bradford Panthers on a walk-off by Isaac Mann in game one, 6-5, and scoring the game's final run on an error in the bottom of the sixth in game two, to win, 5-4.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Game 1 Score: Pitt-Bradford – 5 | Houghton – 6
Game 2 Score: Pitt-Bradford – 4 | Houghton – 5
Records: Pitt-Bradford: 6-11 | Houghton: 7-9
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, Houghton College | Attendance: 75/75
 
Game 1:
In the bottom of the seventh, with the game knotted, 5-5, Isaac Mann laced a one-out base hit to left-center, scoring Davis Mcmillan from second base for the dramatic victory.
 
After a shaky start for the Highlanders that saw them commit three fielding errors in the first inning, the Panthers led 1-0 early.
 
Houghton responded with a pair of runs in the second to take the lead after an RBI single from Phil Schurr, and a sacrifice fly by Dylan Boprey.
 
The Highlanders tacked on three more in the bottom of the fourth on a two-RBI double from Jason Kauffeldt and a single from Chris VanCheri.
 
In the meantime, Houghton starter Hunter Kendall, posted four consecutive zeros.  But after retiring the first two batters in the sixth, strung together a pair of hits, a hit by pitch, two infield singles, and a single to center, and suddenly the game was tied, 5-5.
 
The Highlanders put a man in scoring position in the bottom half of the inning but could not score. 
 
In the seventh, Kendall stranded a Bradford runner at first.
 
Mcmillan then led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ian Slate, and Mann pulled out the heroics on a 2-2 pitch on the outer half.   
 
Game 2:
Jackson Medeiros picked up the first win of his collegiate career, entering in the top of the fifth with the game tied, 4-4, and tossing two near-perfect, scoreless, innings of relief.
 
The Panthers again opened the scoring with a single run in the top of the first, but Houghton quickly answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Perhaps the most dramatic sequence of the game came in the bottom of the third with the game still knotted at one.  Jason Kauffeldt led off with a base hit to shallow right field and promptly stole second base on the next pitch.  One pitch later Kauffeldt swiped third. After watching a ball-three to Dylan Boprey, Kauffeldt took off for home.  The pitch came in off the outside corner for ball four, but Kauffeldt slid in to home, just ahead of the tag, having stolen three bases in four pitches, and giving the Highlanders a 2-1 lead.
 
Houghton would score again in the inning to go up by two, 3-1, but the Panthers answered quickly in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs on only one hit—a sacrifice bunt that turned into a single—to regain the lead, 4-3.
 
The Highlanders answered in the bottom half of the inning, again thanks to Kauffeldt.  The speedy centerfielder led off with a base hit to second base, stole second, was balked to third, and scored on a ground ball to first base. 
 
After Medeiros tossed two scoreless innings, Chris VanCheri led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk then advanced to second on a sacrifice by Zach Parr. With one out and runners on first and second Ethan Cetton skied a fly ball into the night sky that the Panther second baseman lost sight of off the bat.  He appeared to regain sight of the ball as it neared his glove, but it was too late.  The ball glanced off his glove, and VanCheri raced home with the go-ahead run.
 
Cetton took the bump in the bottom of the seventh, looking to close out the game for the Highlanders.  After walking the leadoff batter, Cetton induced a fly ball to left, before VanCheri gunned down the Panther runner attempting to steal second.  With two outs Cetton struck out the final Pitt-Bradford batter on a pair of fastballs to seal the Houghton win, and the sweep.
 
KEY STATS:
>> Kauffeldt finished his day 3-for-7 with a walk, a double, and two RBI, but perhaps most impressively, he stole four bases in game two, the second time this season he has accomplished the feat.  He has now swiped 16 bases in 16 attempts this season.
 
>> Boprey saw his 16-game hitting streak come to an end, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly in game one.  He then picked right up where he left off in game two, going 1-for-3 with another walk, an RBI and two runs scored.
 
>> Kendall improved to 2-2 on the season with his first complete game of the season.  He scattered 10 hits, walked only two, and struck out six.
 
COACH'S CORNER:
"Our guys battled today.  We came up with some big plays and some big hits when we needed them. 
 
"We dug a hole for ourselves in the first game, but we never quit, and we put together a well-executed inning to pull out a win. 
 
"In the second game we were able to put consistent pressure on them on the basepaths.  Jason [Kauffeldt] was outstanding, but so were a number of our guys.  Jason just brings an extra dimension to the game because you simply can't take your attention away from him for a second or he'll punish you for it.  That's what he did tonight: he basically asserted his will on the game.
 
"Pitt-Bradford fought hard.  They deserve a lot of credit.  Both of these games were pretty exciting.  While it's disappointing that the second game ended the way it did, they put together an excellent effort, as did our guys.
 
"It's nice to pick up a pair of wins with a chance at getting back to .500 this weekend.  I'm looking forward to getting a little better tomorrow and coming back to play on Saturday." –Head Coach Brian Reitnour
 
UP NEXT:
The Highlanders return to the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex on Saturday for a doubleheader matchup with the Hilbert Hawks at 1:00 p.m.