UTICA, NY- The Utica College baseball team erased two three-run deficits and scored six runs in the sixth inning to come away with a 9-7 win over Houghton College in the Pioneers' home opener Monday afternoon.    The second game of the double-header was halted headed into the tenth inning due to darkness.
 
Sophomore Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) was 5-for-9 on the day with seven RBIs and four runs scored to pace the Pioneers.
 
Utica 9, Houghton 7- Game One Final
Utica found itself down 3-0 in the fifth inning and again trailing 6-3 in the sixth but totaled nine runs in two innings to come away with the 9-7 victory.
 
The Pioneers got off to a good start in the sixth inning as they loaded the bases with no outs.  Despite grounding into a double play, UC strung together five straight hits to take the 9-6 lead. 
 
Houghton plated one run in the seventh, but it was not enough as the Pioneers held on to pick up their first conference win of the season.
 
Tom Carrigan (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) was 2-for-3, while Quinlan was 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead UC.  JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills), Jacob Gaboriault (Colchester, VT/Essex), Adam Nell ( Vernon, NY/VVS), Ben Julian (Wynantskill, NY/Troy), and Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) each had one hit.
 
Griffin Baur (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) struck out six in just over five innings of work, while Dom Caccioppoli (Circleville, NY/Pine Bush ) fanned three and allowed just one earned run to pick up the win.
 
Utica 15, Houghton 15- (In Progress, Top 10)
Adam Nell ( Vernon, NY/VVS) hit a three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings before game two was halted due to darkness. 
 
The Pioneers scored at least one run in each of the first five innings and led 10-3 at one point, before Houghton battled back to score ten runs in the sixth inning to take a 15-11 lead.  The score remained the same until the bottom of the ninth when the Pioneers mounted the comeback.
 
With two outs and runners on first and second, Tim Quinlan (Monroe, CT/Masuck) hit a single up the middle to score Ryan Palmer (Vernon, NY/VVS).  Then, after a pitching change, Nell blasted a three-run shot over the center field fence to tie the game at 15.  Houghton was able to get the final out and send the game to extra innings.  The game was halted however headed into the top of the tenth due to darkness. 
 
JT Ross (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) led all batters going 4-for-5, including with first home run as a Pioneer. He also totaled four runs scored in the game, while Quinlan was 3-for-5 with four RBIs, three runs scored, and one walk. 
 
Zachary Schellenger (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) and Christian Tiffin (Sherrill, NY/VVS) were each 2-for-5, while Jake Ryan (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and Tom Carrigan (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) each recorded one hit.
 
Play will resume at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon prior to the series finale between the two teams.