- Highlanders Clinch Postseason Berth as Offense Explodes in Win Over Sage
- Newtown, Kauffeldt Establish New Career Records
- HOUGHTON, NY— With post-season seeding on the line, and a light rain falling all afternoon, the Houghton Highlanders pounded out 15 hits to defeat the Russell Sage Gators, 12-6, on Sunday afternoon, clinching a postseason berth in the Empire 8 tournament.
- After the Gators plated three runs in the first two innings, Houghton starter Ryan Newtown settled in, not allowing another run until the seventh inning, earning his third win of the season, and the 12th of his career, establishing a new Highlander career high watermark.
- The Houghton rally didn’t take long, as the Highlander bats came alive in the second inning. Chris VanCheri led off with a double to left center and Davis Mcmillan followed by crushing a homerun over the leftfield wall. The Highlanders would score two more later in the inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Jeremey Wilcox and Jason Kauffeldt.
- Houghton would score four more in the fourth, and another in the sixth to take a 9-3 lead.
- After Sage got a run back in the seventh, the Highlanders answered with three more in the bottom half of the inning, going up 12-4.
- While the Gators would score two more runs in the eighth, they would come no closer, as Houghton wrapped up win number 16 on the season and a clear path to the #3 seed in the Empire 8 conference tournament.
- GAME VITALS
- Score: Russell Sage – 6 | Houghton – 12
- Records: Russell Sage: 16-21 (9-9 Empire 8) | Houghton: 16-20 (8-7 Empire 8)
- Venue: Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, Houghton University | Attendance: 50
- KEY STATS:
- >> Every Houghton starter collected at least one hit, and six—Wilcox, Kauffeldt, Zach Parr, VanCheri, Mcmillan, and Dylan Boprey—collected two apiece.
- >> Kauffeldt stole three bases in three attempts, making him 25-for-25 on the year, passing David Wessells (’20) for the all-time Houghton stolen base record with 75 swiped bags.
- COACH’S CORNER:
- “We needed this win and our guys really stepped up today. We scored two runs in two games yesterday, so to see our guys hit and run the bases the way they did was spectacular.
- “Ryan [Newtown] really settled in and gave us another quality start. It was great to see him set a new Houghton pitching mark in a game that mattered. We played good defense behind him and came up with big plays when we needed them.
- “Jason [Kauffeldt] has wreaked havoc on the bases for four years. It was pretty special to see him break David [Wessells’] record, especially since he did it on a steal of third, which was right in front of me.
- “This was a good team win. Now we’ll take a day off and get ready for our weekend series against Medaille.” – Head Coach Brian Reitnour
- UP NEXT:
Houghton clinched playoff berth recap from houghton website below
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