Highlanders Win Twice; Canton and Ithaca Lose by One
HOUGHTON v Alfred State
The Houghton College baseball team won their first two home games of the year today against the Alfred State College Pioneers.
In game one the Highlanders opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first when
Michael Knapp (Brockport, NY) grounded out to the shortstop and scored
Enrico Sukhdeo (Georgetown, Guyana).
In the fourth the Highlanders rallied. Sukhdeo led off the inning with a double. Then
Christopher McKay (Oakville, ON, Canada) reached on an error that allowed Sukhdeo to score from second. After Knapp's base hit in between first and second
Michael Kerr's (Brentwood, TN) 2 RBI triple gave the Highlanders a 5-0 lead.
The Pioneers scored four runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but the Highlanders put 2 insurance runs on the board in the bottom of the 6th.
Kyle Flemington (Burlington, ON, Canada) finished off the Pioneers in the seventh striking out two Pioneer batters and giving the Highlanders a 9-4 victory.
In game two the Highlanders offensive continued to strive.
The Highlanders opened up the scoring again in the first with back-to-back triples by
Trenton Unverdorben (Portville, NY) and
Brett Rapan (Bolivar, NY), which gave the Highlanders a 3-0 lead.
The Pioneers scored a run in the top of the second, but the Highlanders answered right back in the bottom half of the inning. Sukhdeo had a RBI single that scored
Tage Johnson (Jamestown, NY). Then McKay hit a triple that scored Sukhdeo from third and Knapp would score McKay from third on a ground out to the shortstop to give the Highlanders a comfortable 6-1 lead.
The Highlanders cruised to a 7-2 win led by
Jared Knowlton (Gouverneur, NY) who earned the win only giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs during his 5.2 innings of work.
CANTON v Fitchburg
The SUNY Canton baseball team nearly overcame a five run deficit after six innings of play but fell just short, 11-10, to Fitchburg State College on Tuesday.
Jeremy Baez (Bronx, NY) posted 3 RBIs, while
Christian Nazario-Cruz (Naguabo, Puerto Rico),
Wilson Matos (Brooklyn, NY) and
Chris Jones (Deerfield Beach, FL) drove in three runs each for the Roos (2-4). SUNY Canton scored twice in the top of the second to take a 2-1 lead. Nazario-Cruz plated one runner after getting hit by a pitch and Matos singled to left to score
Jesse Barton.
Seven runs in the third and fourth innings helped get the Falcons out to an 8-3 lead after four frames. SUNY Canton got one back in the fifth, but Fitchburg State responded with one run in the sixth to open up a 9-4 advantage.
SUNY Canton posted four runs in the seventh inning to trim the deficit to just one. Jones singled home
Seth Douglas. With the bases loaded Matos drew a walk and
Jeremy Baez (Bronx, NY) followed with a single to bring Nazario-Cruz and Jones across.
Fitchburg responded with two crucial insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning. SUNY Canton looked to rally in the eighth bringing two runners across on an RBI single from
Brandon Welch (Constable, NY) and an RBI for Nazario-Cruz, but they were unable to get the tying run across.
Khalil Bratton (Queens, NY) got the start on the mound throwing five and one-third innings giving up four earned runs.
Dom Deliberti (Staten Island, NY) and
Keenan Shannon (Ballston Spa, NY) came on in relief to give up just one earned in two and two-thirds innings.
ITHACA v Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
The Ithaca College baseball team led by five runs after two innings of play at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Tuesday afternoon in California, but fell in the 11th inning, 9-8, on a two-run walk-off homerun. Ithaca is now 0-3 this season.
The Bombers jumped out to 3-0 lead after the top of the first on two hits and two errors committed by the Stags. Junior
John Stanley started the rally with a one-out double and eventually scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of classmate
Stephen Yanchus. Sophomore
Ryan Henchey walked after Stanley's double and also came around to score on an error during the fielder's choice. Yanchus would come home on an RBI single from senior
Brian Burns.
C-M-S got one run back in the bottom half of the first on back-to-back doubles, but Ithaca answered right back with three more runs in the top of the second inning.
During the three-run frame, Stanley singled to drive in senior
Cooper Belyea after Belyea reached on a base hit. Senior
Christian Brown found his way on base with a walk and came around to score on a wild pitch before sophomore
Trevor Thompson pushed Stanley home on another single.
The Stags scored three times in the third inning to cut Ithaca's lead down to 6-4. An error by Ithaca started the rally, which came around to score on a double from the next batter. After the double, the Stags' next hitter stroked a two-run homerun to cap off the inning.
Ithaca got one back in the fourth an RBI double from Thompson that brought home Brown. Brown reached on a walk and then stole second to move into scoring position.
C-M-S kept the game a two-run spread with another run in the fifth and would eventually knot the contest up at 7-7 after runs in the eighth and ninth innings. The Stags were down to their last out in the ninth and two runners on when the game-tying single occurred.
The Bombers would go back ahead, 8-7, in the top of the 11th on a sacrifice fly from Belyea. Junior
Zach Cole scored on the play after leading off the inning with a single.
C-M-S completed the comeback in the bottom half with the two-run homer.
Freshman
Tyler Hill suffered the loss over 1.2 innings of work. Hill struck out two batters and gave up two hits.
Junior
Ryan Contegni tossed 2.2 innings and surrendered two runs on five hits, while senior
Jimmy Wagner started the game for Ithaca and lasted 6.1 innings. Wagner fanned five batters and allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits.
Stanley went 3-for-5 in the game with two runs scored and an RBI. Thompson collected two hits in four at bats with two walks and two RBI.