The Houghton College baseball team won 16-14 against the Utica College Pioneers Monday afternoon.
The Highlanders were led by
Joseph Gilligan (Ringwood, NJ, Lakeland Regional),
Garret Kirkpatrick (York, PA, Central York), and
Michael Knapp (Brockport, NY, Brockport). Gilligan went three for five with five RBI, Kirkpatrick went two for five with three RBI, and Knapp went three for seven with two RBI.
Victor Cavalieri (Rochester, NY, Northstar Christian) earned his second win of the year for the Highlanders and James Richards was credited with the loss.
The win makes the Highlanders 16-18 and the Pioneers are now 17-12.
The Highlanders got on the board first in the top of the second when Gilligan hit a single to right field that scored Unverdorben from second. Next batter
Bryan Hodge (Thornton, CO, Community Christian) came up and hit a double into the gap in right center that scored Gilligan from first and gave the Highlanders a 2-0 lead.
The Pioneers put five runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning on four hits.
The Highlanders regained the lead in the top of the third when Kirkpatrick hit a two RBI single that gave the highlanders a 6-5 lead.
The Highlanders added to their lead in the fourth when Knapp scored on a wild pitch by and then
Trenton Unverdorben (Portville, NY, Portville) hit a RBI double to give the Highlanders a three run lead.
The Pioneers put up a crooked number in the bottom of the fourth scoring six runs on four hits, but once again the Highlanders fought right back in the fifth. The Highlanders scored five runs on four hits highlighted by Gilligan's two RBI double and Kirkpatrick's RBI single, which gave the Highlanders a 13-11 lead.
The Pioneers cut the lead to just two runs after scoring two in the in the bottom half of the inning, but the Highlanders offense continued to produce runs scoring two runs when
Michael Kerr (Brentwood, TN, Hamburg ) hit a RBI single and
Tage Johnson (Jamestown, NY, Frewsburg) hit a RBI double.
The Pioneers added on another run in the sixth to make the score 15-14 after six innings of play.
After a scoreless seventh the Highlanders added on another run in the top of the eighth when the Pioneers committed an error that allowed Kerr to score from third.
The Highlanders hope the offensive production carries over to the weekend series against St. John Fisher starting Friday at 4 p.m. in Rochester, NY.
