HOUGHTON, N.Y. — The Keuka College Baseball team completed the series sweep of Houghton University as they defeated the Highlanders twice on Saturday.
Keuka College (9-15, 5-9 Empire 8) won the opener 5-4. The Green and Gold then completed the sweep with a 7-3 victory in game two.
Keuka College 5 at Houghton University 4 – Game 1
The Wolves took the early lead as a pair of walks put runners on base in the first.
Evan Cuba singled to right to score
Alex Evans. Cuba and
Derek Novicki then scored on a two-run single by
Grady Kessler to make it 3-0.
Evan Cuba led off the fourth with a double and would score on an error as the Wolves added to their lead.
Houghton fought back with single runs in the fifth and sixth to make it 4-2. The Green and Gold added an insurance run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by
Mike Dutch.
The insurance was needed as Houghton scored a run in the eighth and the ninth. They had the game-tying run on second, but
Brandon Wilson got a groundout to end the game.
Keuka College 7 at Houghton University 3 – Game 2
Houghton scored in the bottom of the first inning as the Keuka offense was slowed early. A single by
Alex Evans was the only hit for the Wolves over the first four innings, but starting pitcher
Ryan Schur, Jr. kept the game at 1-0.
Keuka tied the game in the fifth. It started with reaching on an error. Then a groundout moved
Jackson Loper to third. Loper then scored and tied the game on an RBI single by
Juan Gonzalez.
Alex Evans led off the sixth with a single and was bunted to second by
Patrick Altpeter. He would move to third on a passed ball and scored on an error as the Wolves took the lead.
The Wolves kept scoring a run an inning as they pushed across another in the seventh. Loper singled and stole second.
Juan Gonzalez followed with a single, moving him to third.
Ian Ruhmel reached on an error, scoring Loper. Gonzalez and Ruhmel then both scored on a single by
Alex Evans as the Wolves pushed their advantage to 5-1.
Houghton scored a run in the bottom of the inning, but Keuka answered right back in the eighth on a two-run single by
Ian Ruhmel. The Highlanders plated one in the bottom of the eighth, but the hosts would go down in order in the ninth as Keuka College defeated Houghton University 7-3.
KC Notes:
- It was the first Empire 8 Conference series victory for Keuka College against Houghton University. The Wolves are now 11-15 all-time against the Highlanders
- Lucas Gilbert and Brandon Wilson combined on the mound for Keuka in game one. Gilbert set a new career high with eight strikeouts in his six innings of work
- Brandon Wilson threw the final three innings for the Green and Gold for his third save of the season
- The Wolves were limited to just five hits as a team in game one. Evan Cuba and Grady Kessler each had a multi-hit game
- Alex Evans posted three hits in game two
- Juan Gonzalez was a perfect 2-2 at the plate in the nightcap and added a pair of walks
- Derek Novicki was on base with walks in both games, but saw his career-high eight-game hitting streak come to an end
- Ryan Schur, Jr. got the win in game two going five innings. The first-year allowed just two hits and struck out a career-best six
- Trey Bova pitched the final 2.1 innings for the Wolves to earn his first career save
Up Next for Keuka College: The Green and Gold have a bye week from the Empire 8 Conference. The Wolves will fill their schedule with a pair of non-conference games at Kuhl Field at Keuka College. The Wolves will host Hobart College on Tuesday and then RIT on Wednesday.
