Houghton Wins Two at Utica; Stevens Claims Win at Lehman
HOUGHTON v UTICA
The Houghton College baseball team earned two close wins Friday afternoon to Utica College. The Highlanders won game one 9-8, in the top of the seventh and then won game two, 5-4 in the eighth.
Houghtons moves their record to 11-13 on the season, while the Pioneers are now 2-16.
Both teams return to the UC Baseball Field Saturday for another afternoon doubleheader. First-pitch of game one is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Houghton 9, Utica 8 - Game One
Houghton opened up the scoring in the top of the first inning with three runs on a homerun down the left field line by Kaiden Bowers to take an early 3-0 lead. The Pioneers quickly answered with three runs of their own to knot up the contest, 3-3.
The Highlanders came right back with another two runs in the top of the second to regain the lead, 5-3. UC edged its way back with one run in the second and third to knot the game up, 5-5.
HC would regain another two run edge in the top of the fourth on two hits as it moved to a 7-5 lead. Utica answered with one run in the fifth before taking its first lead of the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth.
However, the Highlanders proved tough as they responded with two more runs in the top of the seventh and eventually closed out the game one victory.
HC's Kameron Konert got the win with 6.0 innings of work while Seth Cornell closed out the final inning to earn the save.
Houghton 4, Utica 2 – Game Two
The teams each scored one run in the first and in the fourth with two full innings of quiet play in between as the game featured a 2-2 scoreboard headed into the fifth inning. In the top of the fifth, Houghton regained its third lead of the contest with two runs and led 4-2.
UC did not waste any time as it responded right back with two runs of its own to knot the contest up, 4-4, headed into the final inning of play.
STEVENS v LEHMAN
The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team picked up its third-straight victory with a 10-6 non-conference win at Lehman College on Friday afternoon in the Bronx. Stevens improves to 17-14 on the season and will look to cap off a perfect week with a doubleheader against SUNY Brockport tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Dobbelaar Field.
Stevens fell behind, 2-0, after the second inning but scored at least one run between the fourth and seventh innings, including four in the fifth, to take a 7-6 lead. The Ducks then tacked on three more runs in the top of the ninth which resulted in the final score of the game.
In the four-run fifth, the Ducks capitalized on an error by Lehman to score three unearned runs. Freshman
Jayson Yano (Foothill Ranch, Calif.), junior
Dan Allen (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) and senior
Michael Donovan (Frisco, Texas) all drove in runs. Allen drove in two runs on his first of two doubles on the afternoon. Allen finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBI, a stolen base and picked up his fourth save of the season at the end of the contest. Donovan went 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Yano stole a base in five trips to the plate.
Sophomore
Brian Hennelly (Holbrook, N.Y.) delivered a bases-clearing double in the top of the ninth inning to give Stevens some breathing room heading into the last at bats for Lehman. Hennelly batted 2-for-5 for the Ducks.
Senior
Tyler Courter (Glenwood, N.J.) walked three times and scored a run, while sophomore
Marc Calleo (Bayville, N.Y.) and freshman
Nicholas Sieber (Shrewsbury, Mass.) each laid down two sacrifice bunts.
Freshman
Robert Robbins (Tallahassee, Fla.) struck out five batters over 5.1 innings pitched to earn the victory. Robbins allowed nine hits and five runs before coming out of the game and replaced by classmate
Ryan Patterson (Staten Island, N.Y.). Patterson recorded two strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched.
Allen punched out three batters in the final 1.2 innings of the ball game and gave up two hits.
Brockport brings a 15-13 record into tomorrow's doubleheader after an 11-10 victory over RIT on Thursday.