ALBANY, N.Y. – Houghton softball went 1-1 on its first day of Empire 8 competition against The Sage Colleges on Saturday. The Highlanders lost 6-2 in game one before closing the day with a 13-9 victory.

Game 1
The Highlanders opened the first contest with two runs in the top of the first, capitalizing on three hits and an error. Lydia Peterson, Grace Thompson and Rachel Scharf each singled to stake the visitors to the early lead.

Sage pitchers controlled the rest of the game, holding Houghton scoreless while allowing five more hits. The Gators hitters came through with two runs each in of the third, fourth and sixth innings to claim the victory.

Peterson finished with three hits, while Thompson and Scharf had two apiece. Kayla Loomis went the distance on the mound, allowing six runs on 10 hits, while striking out four and walking one.

Game 2
The second game saw the Houghton batters catch fire, rapping out 20 hits and scoring 13 runs. Thompson continued her hot play at the plate. After Hannah Haskell reached on the single, Thompson belted a two-run homer to put the visitors up 2-0 after the top of the first.

The contest was back and forth early. The Gators took a 4-3 lead after the second, but the Highlanders responded with a single run in the top of the third and four more in the top of the fourth to go up 8-4. However, the Gators would not go away, scoring twice in the bottom of the fourth to cut the margin to 8-6.

After a scoreless fifth inning for both teams, Houghton broke the game open with a blistering sixth. The Highlanders scored five times on seven hits to push the lead to 13-6. The Gators scored twice in the bottom of the sixth and added a solo tally in the bottom of the seventh for the final runs.

Five Highlanders had at least three hits on the afternoon, led by a 4 for 5 performance from Kristin Keller. Elise Swanson was 3 for 4 with a homerun, while Peterson, Haskell and Thompson each had three hits. Peterson, Scharf and Thompson led the team with 3 RBI each. Thompson finished with a homer and two doubles.

Loomis got the start on the mound, allowing five runs on five hits over four innings of work. Jen Burrows pitched three innings in relief, allowing four runs on five hits.

The Highlanders improved to 12-9 on the season (1-1 E8) and are one win away from tying the program record for wins in a season. They return to action when they travel to take on Utica in a doubleheader on Monday beginning at 3:30 p.m.