HOUGHTON, NY— Back at the friendly confines of the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, the Houghton Highlanders rode two strong pitching performances, some outstanding defense, and 25 hits, to a doubleheader sweep of the Hilbert Hawks on Saturday afternoon, winning game one, 7-2, and the nightcap, 12-0.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Game 1 Score: Hilbert – 2 | Houghton – 7
Game 2 Score: Hilbert – 0 | Houghton – 12
Records: Hilbert: 9-6 | Houghton: 4-10
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex Baseball Field, Houghton University | Attendance: 95/87
 
Game 1:
Ethan Cetton picked up his second straight victory, allowing two runs on four hits and only two walks, while striking out six.
 
The Hawks got on the board early, thanks to a sliced one-out double down the left field line, followed by a sliced two-out triple down the right field line.
 
Houghton quickly answered with single runs in the second, third and fourth innings, before pushing across three more in the fifth.  Mason Sutherland crushed a double to deep left-center, scoring Chris VanCheri.  After a walk to Ty Kenney loaded the bases, Vincent Lucyszyn hit a sacrifice fly, and Jeremey Wilcox followed with a base hit, giving the Highlanders some insurance.
 
Jack Duffek would pull the Hawks a run closer with a solo home run in the top of the sixth, but VanCheri answered with a blast of his own in the bottom half of the inning, completing the day's scoring.
 
Game 2:
Aiden Talcott earned his first win of the year, tossing six solid innings, surrendering only three hits and striking out three, while not allowing a single run.
 
Nate Hall set the tone early, with a lead-off triple to right-center, as the Highlanders announced their presence with authority in the first inning, plating seven runs on five hits.
 
While Houghton would add two additional runs in both the third and fourth innings, and a final run in the sixth, the first inning outburst would be all the cushion Talcott would need, as he cruised to the victory.
 
Lukas Cornell would finish the game with a scoreless frame in the seventh for the Highlanders.
 
KEY STATS:
>> Houghton would collect 12 hits in the first game, and 13 more in the second, while not committing a single defensive error in either game.
 
>> Hall finished with a team-best four hits on the day, including two triples, while VanCheri, Ian Slate, Sutherland, Lucyszyn and Wilcox all posted three hits apiece on the day. 
 
>> In game two, seven of the Highlanders 13 hits went for extra bases.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"Admittedly, this has been a challenging start to the year for our guys.  But they have remained resilient.  They worked hard all week, and I think we saw the results of that work today.
 
"We had better approaches and discipline at the plate, we battled with two strikes, we had productive outs.  Ethan [Cetton] and Aiden [Talcott] pounded the zone and we limited the number of free bases we allowed, while managing their high-pressure style of offense.  We put together two complete wins and demonstrated the type of baseball we're capable of playing.  I was really proud of our guys today." – Head Coach Brian Reitnour

UP NEXT:
The Highlanders are scheduled to play a non-conference game against Alfred State at home on Tuesday, before opening conference play against Utica University on Friday and Saturday.  However, with the forecasted temperatures for next week dipping into the upper 20s and low 30s every day, stayed tuned for potential schedule changes.