Houghton, NY - One day after being swept by Utica, Houghton returned the favor on the Pioneers with a doubleheader sweep of their own on Saturday. The Highlanders took game one 9-8 and game two 13-10 as the teams finished 2-2 against one another this weekend.
Game 1
The Pioneers offense gave starter
Travis Grogan (Middletown, NY/Middletown) some run support before he took the hill in the 1st inning. Both runs came off the bat of
Matthew Leviton (South River, NJ/South River) on a two RBI double to center which scored
Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) and
John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills). Two innings later, Battista drove in
Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) on a single to center to give Grogan and the Pioneers a 3-0 lead.
After retiring the first seven batters of the game, Grogan allowed a two out, two RBI double that pulled the Highlanders within a run heading into the 4th inning.
However, the Pioneers responded by scoring four runs between the 4th and 6th innings to extend its lead to 7-2. Grogan cruised along until the 6th inning when he ran into some trouble that forced him out of the game. His final line included going 5.1 innings allowing five runs on seven hits to go along with two strikeouts to one walk.
Brian Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) came on in relief of Grogan in a 7-3 ballgame with two men on base in the 6th. Dinnen allowed three runners to come across home in the inning. The UC offense pushed across one more in the 7th to take an 8-6 lead into the bottom of the 7th.
Dinnen allowed the first two batters to reach and was relieved by
Brendon Sarnowski (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville). Four batters later the Highlanders offense handed the Pioneers a walk-off loss one day after its walk-off win in game one in Utica. In the end it was Houghton coming away with a 9-8 win.
Son and Battista were UC's only two batters with multiple hits as Son finished game one 3-for-4 while Battista was 2-for-3 with a walk. Leviton was responsible for two of the Pioneers' five RBIs in the game.
Game 2
Utica replicated its two run 1st inning from game one with a two run 1st inning in game two. Battista drove in
Sean Vanegas (Bronx, NY/Mt. St. Michael) on a double while
Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton HS) was responsible for a sacrifice fly that scored Son. The Highlanders answered back however with four runs of their own in the 1st inning while
Tyler Catalfamo (Albany, NY/Colonie) struggled in his first start of the season.
While Catalfamo struggled, he settled down while his offense supported him with seven more runs from the 2nd inning to the 5th inning as the Pioneers held a 9-4 lead going into the bottom of the 5th inning.
Catalfamo completed the 5th inning but not before giving up two more runs to help the Highlander pull within three runs. His day ended after five allowing six runs, five earned, on seven hits to go along with one strikeout and two walks.
Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) singled home Story in the 6th to give relief pitcher
Dakota Deasy (Mexico, NY/Mexico) a four run cushion. Fielding fell apart for the Pioneers while Deasy was on the bump as the Highlanders scored an unearned run in the 6th inning and two more unearned runs in the 7th on an E9 to make it a 10-9 game going into the 8th.
The Pioneers offense fell silent in the 8th while Houghton made them pay in the home half. Four runs came across for the Highlanders while three of them were also unearned as they took a 13-10 lead and didn't look back in the 9th to secure the sweep. Deasy finished tossing 2.1innings allowing five runs, one earned, on two hits.
Cronk finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBIs. Story and Battista finished with three RBI's each with Battista also going 2-for-4 with two walks at the plate while Story was 2-for-5.
The Pioneers will travel to Cobleskill, NY on Wednesday to take on the SUNY Cobleskill Tigers at 3 p.m. for one nine inning game. Utica is 2-1 all-time against Cobleskill while all three games came in 2019.
