Pioneers and Highlanders Split a Pair

Alfred State and Houghton split a pair of tight ball games on Tuesday afternoon.  Houghton won the opener 8-4 in eight innings while the Pioneers took the nightcap 5-4.

Houghton erased a 4-2 deficit with single runs in the 4th and 6th inning and then strung together three hits and took advantage of a Pioneer error to plate four runs in the 8th inning.

Cullen Franz (Cazenovia) was 2 for 3 with a RBI in the game for the Pioneers while Austin Baker (Canisteo Greenwood) was 2 for 4 with a RBI.  

Michael Kerr was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI for Houghton while Michael Knapp was 3 for 4.  Seth Cornell struck out six in three innings of relief to earn the win.

In the nightcap, Matthew Nawrot (Clarence) hit a one RBI single in the bottom of the 6th to give the Pioneeers a 5-4 lead.  He then came on to pitch and got the Pioneers out of a jam in the top of the 7th.  Houghton had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs when Nawrot entered the game.  After a sac bunt moved the runners up 90 feet, Nawrot induced a fly ball that Ryan Hierlwimmer caught in right field and fired home to nail the Highlander runner trying to tag up and score. 

Nawrot was the lone Pioneer with multiple hits finishing 2 for 4 with 2 RBI.  Zach Jackson (Churchville Chili) earned the win out of the pen while Nawrot recorded his first career save.

Knapp led Houghton with a 2 for 4 performance while Tommy Walker was 2 for 4.

Next up for the Pioneers is a trip to Keuka College on Thursday for a 2 p.m. doubleheader vs. the Storm.