HOUGHTON, NY—The Houghton Highlanders and Keuka Wolves split a pair of close games on Friday afternoon, with the Wolves taking game one in dramatic fashion, 5-4, before the Highlanders rebounded to win game two, 4-2.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Game 1 Score: Keuka – 5 | Houghton – 4
Game 2 Score: Keuka – 2 | Houghton – 4
Records: Keuka: 11-13-1 (5-6-1 Empire 8) | Houghton: 11-21 (4-10 Empire 8)
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, Houghton, NY | Attendance: 65/75
 
Game One:
Trailing, 5-3, entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Houghton's Davis Mcmillan ripped a one-out RBI single to left, scoring Ethan Cetton and pulling the Highlanders within a run. 
 
After a strikeout put the Wolves within an out of victory, Jeremey Wilcox ripped a two-strike pinch-hit base hit then stole second base.  Chris VanCheri reached on a catcher's interference to load the bases.
 
A one-strike ball in the dirt scooted a short distance from the catcher and Mcmillan broke for home.  In a bang-bang plate at the plate, the ball and the pitcher arrived shortly before Mcmillan, ending the Highlanders rally.
 
Houghton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third, but Keuka responded immediately with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth.
 
With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Zach Parr crushed a deep homerun in to a stiff wind over the left field fence to even the score.
 
But in the top of the sixth the Wolves touched-up Houghton reliever Trevor Ciccotti for a pair of runs, putting them up, 5-3.
 
Both teams threatened in their next two at bats, but neither scored, setting the stage for the dramatic play-at-the-plate finish.
 
Game Two:
Jeremey Wilcox picked up his second win of the year, tossing 7.2 innings, scattering seven hits and one walk, before giving way to Will Tormey, who pitched the final 1.1 innings to pick up his first career save.
 
Houghton opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth after Ian Slate ripped a base hit to right, scoring Dylan Boprey, and Isaac Mann followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring VanCheri.
 
The Highlanders struck again the following inning, and again it came off the bat of Zach Parr.  With Jose Morales at second base, Parr demolished a two-strike, two-out offering off the top of the scoreboard in left-center, giving Houghton a 4-0 lead. 
 
Keuka finally knocked Wilcox from the game in the top of the eighth, when Aaron Simons hit a two-out double to right, scoring a pair of runs to trim the lead to only two runs.
 
Tormey entered the game and induced a fly out to right on one pitch. 
 
After the Highlanders went harmlessly in the bottom of the inning, Tormey quickly retired the first two batters by way of strikeout and a ground out to short.  But back-to-back singles put Keuka runners on first and third before Tormey struck out the final batter to end the game.
 
KEY STATS:
>> Parr finished 2-for-6 on the day, with both hits leaving the yard.  His two homeruns raised his slugging percentage to a team-best .631. 
 
>> Mcmillan recorded his first three-hit performance in the first game, turning in a perfect 3-for-3 day, while notching a walk, a double and two stolen bases.
 
>> Of the Highlanders' 32 games so far this season, 13 of them have been decided by two-runs or less, including eight of their last 10 games.

COACH'S CORNER:
"While it was certainly tough to come so close in that first game and not come away with a win, I'm proud of how our guys responded in the second game.  Jeremey [Wilcox] gave us a tremendous outing.  He pounded the zone all day long, and that makes a huge difference.
 
"Will [Tormey] did a great job closing the door, and I can't say enough about how big Zach Parr continues to be for our offense. 
 
"For the most part, we played solid defense.  We turned three double plays and that was vital to our success. 
 
"Our guys continue to battle.  Obviously our record is not where we would like it to be, but these men have stayed true to the process.  They never quit, they keep learning and they give everything they have.  I'm looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow afternoon." – Head Coach Brian Reitnour
 
UP NEXT:
The Highlanders were originally scheduled to travel to Keuka tomorrow for the final two games of the four-game set, but since the Wolves field has been deemed unplayable, the two teams will return to the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex tomorrow at 1:00pm for the first pitch of another doubleheader.