Houghton, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly baseball team split their doubleheader against the Houghton University Highlanders, losing game one by a score of 12-4 and winning game two by a score of 6-3. The split gives the Wildcats a season record of 8-10. 

GAME ONE: 

The game began quietly for both teams. Houghton struck out twice in the first, and after a single, a groundout left a runner stranded on second. SUNY Poly managed a single, but a strikeout ended their chance to score.

Houghton's offense came alive in the third. Jeremiah Chow singled to start the inning, and Qingyang Feng followed with a single of his own. A balk allowed Chow to score and Feng to move to third. Vincent Lucyszyn's single brought in Feng, and a fielding error by the third baseman allowed Christian Tortorici to reach base and move Lucyszyn to third. Ian Slate's groundout pushed across Lucyszyn, and another groundout plated an unearned run. Houghton quickly took a 3-0 lead.

The scoring continued for Houghton in the fourth. After a fielding error allowed a runner on, a passed ball moved him to third. A sacrifice fly from Chow brought the runner home, and another fielding error from the shortstop allowed Tortorici to reach base and score another unearned run. Slate added an RBI single, and two more passed balls helped Houghton score even more. By the end of the inning, the score was 7-0.

SUNY Poly responded in the fourth with a couple of runs. A fielding error by Houghton's second baseman allowed Ryan Pelton to reach, and a single by Luke Landis moved him to second. After Will Orlando was hit by a pitch, Daniel Flaherty walked in a run, and a passed ball allowed Landis to score. The score narrowed to 7-2. 

In the fifth, Houghton answered with a run to make it 8-2. The Wildcats would answer in their half, after Quinn Hill doubled and Pelton tripled to score him, making it 8-3. Landis followed with an RBI double to bring Pelton home, narrowing the gap to 8-4. 

Houghton put the game further out of reach in the sixth, adding four more runs. Tortorici singled, and with a few more base hits and errors, Houghton extended their lead to 12-4, which would be the final score. 

GAME TWO: 

The game started off with both teams failing to generate much offense. Both teams went down quickly, leaving a scoreless first inning. 

The second inning saw Houghton strike first. Kanta Ueno singled to center field and stole second, while James Nelson drew a walk. Ty Kenney followed with a single that advanced Ueno to third and scored Nelson on a fielding error by the center fielder. Kenney would later score, unearned, on another fielding error, giving Houghton a 2-0 lead. 

The next few innings were a back-and-forth affair, with both teams struggling to generate runs. Houghton went down in order in the fourth, and SUNY Poly couldn't capitalize on a leadoff walk in their half of the inning. With both offenses stalling, the score remained 2-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth.SUNY Poly broke through in the sixth. After a leadoff single by Colin Williams, pinch hitter Skylar Unebasami singled to center field to bring in the first run for the home team, making it 2-1. 

In the seventh, the Wildcats started their decisive rally. A series of singles and walks led to five runs crossing the plate. A triple by Quinn Hill and a double by Tristan Allen drove in three of those runs, giving SUNY Poly a 6-2 lead. 

Houghton tried to respond in the ninth. Ueno singled, and Nelson walked to put two men on base. A hit-by-pitch to Kenney loaded the bases, and a wild pitch allowed Ueno to score, narrowing the gap to 6-3. However, back-to-back strikeouts ended the game, and SUNY Poly held on for the win.