HOUGHTON, NY— The SUNY Poly Wildcats put up multi-run innings six times on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Houghton Highlanders in a slugfest, 19-10.
 
The Wildcats pounded out 18 hits, and did the bulk of their damage in the second and fifth innings, when they scored five and six runs, respectively.
 
After trailing, 8-2, Houghton scored one in the fourth and two more in the fifth to cut the deficit to 8-5, but Poly answered with six runs to take a 14-5 lead.
 
The Highlanders again rallied in the sixth, plating four more runs to again pull within striking distance, only to leave the bases loaded.
 
Houghton would add another run in the seventh to pull within four, but Poly would again answer with two in the bottom half of the inning, and three more in the eighth.
 
GAME VITALS                           
Game Score: Houghton – 10 | SUNY Poly – 19
Records: Houghton: 11-11 (3-6 Empire 8) | SUNY Poly: 9-10 (5-3 Empire 8)
Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, Houghton University | Attendance: 45
 
KEY STATS:
>> Houghton left 12 runners on base, while Poly stranded eight.
 
>> Poly took advantage of 18 hits, seven walks and four hit batters.  Houghton managed 11 hits, four walks and six hit batters.
 
>> Kanta Ueno continued his torrid hitting streak, going 3-for-4 with a homerun, two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.  In the three-game series he went 9-for-13 (.692).  Over his last 10 games he is 20-for-34 (.588) and has six multi-hit games.
 
>> Qingyang Feng went 2-for-3 with a double and two hit-by-pitch.  He has 12 multi-hit games this season and trails only Ueno for the most hits on the team (28).
 
COACH'S CORNER:
"This is a bitter pill to swallow.  We hit the ball hard all day long, and played some pretty solid defense. 
 
"However, while we didn't walk many batters until the end, we threw less than 50 percent first-pitch strikes, and the strikes we did throw were consistently up in the zone. We're going to have a hard time winning baseball games if we have more days like this. 
 
"Credit Poly for punishing the mistakes we made.  When we put a ball over the heart of the plate, they hit it.  They also snagged a number of our hard-hit balls.  They simply beat us." – Head Coach Brian Reitnour 
 
UP NEXT:
The Highlanders head to Keuka Park this upcoming Friday and Saturday for a three-game set with the Keuka Wolves.  First pitch on Friday is slated for 3:00 p.m.  With rain in the forecast for this week, stay tuned for potential site changes.