Score: Elmira College 9 – Houghton College 2
Records: Elmira (7-13, 1-6 E8); Houghton (12-15, 2-5 E8)
Location: Dunn Field – Elmira, NY
 
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College baseball team scored its first Empire 8 Conference win of the season on Friday when it powered past Houghton College 9-2 at historic Dunn Field in the first game of a three-game weekend set against the Highlanders.
 
Slow starts had been an issue for the Soaring Eagles in conference contests this season; however, EC flipped the script on Friday evening. The Purple and Gold plated two runs in the first and another run in the second to establish an early 3-0 lead.
 
Elmira had an aggressive approach early, swinging early in the count against Houghton starter Edward Monthie. With one out, Dennis Rudolph '18 laced a first pitch up the middle for a single, while he later advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt that skipped up the right-field line. Dylan Bellinger '17 brought him across on a soft grounder to the right side. The Soaring Eagles got their two-out magic going with three consecutive singles. Conor Bawiec '18 led the hit parade with a base-knock to right. Brian Wehmeyer '16 and Harrison Zambarano '19 followed with singles through the left side, with Zambarano's scoring Bawiec just before Wehmeyer was tagged out advancing to third.
 
EC added on with a single run in the second inning, as the bottom of the order quickly got things started again. Bryce Plante '18 led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch. After Cameron Heggie '18 walked, both runners advanced 90-feet on a wild pitch. Hayden Rothenberg '17 kicked off a really solid day with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 3-0.
 
Nick Sampogna '18 continued to be a bulldog on the mound for EC. Although the Highlanders were able to put runners on base in both the third and fourth innings, the second-year hurler buckled down to keep the visitors off the scoreboard with timely outs.
 
Houghton broke through with one run in the fifth to cut the deficit. After Sampogna retired the first batter, Michael Knapp, Joseph Gilligan and Tage Johnson smacked consecutive singles to make the score 3-1.
 
EC broke things open in the bottom of the sixth with a five-run inning. After Plante and Matt van Muelken '18 reached base to begin the inning, Heggie advanced the runners with a great sacrifice bunt. Rothenberg delivered a clutch hit, bring both runners home with a single through the drawn-in infield to extend the Elmira lead to 5-1. Bawiec delivered the big blow to turn the score into a rout with a triple into the left-center gap to bring home Rothenberg and Bellinger. Wehmeyer capped the scoring with some good fortune, as he smacked an RBI-single that deflected off the first-base bag to extend the lead to 8-1.
 
The Highlanders responded in the top of the seventh, finally stringing some success off of Sampogna to force the EC starter from the contest. Houghton's Gilligan led-off the inning with a double and came around to score on a single by designated hitter Bryan Hodge. The visitors were still in business with two-runners on and no outs when Houghton's Garret Kirkpatrick stepped to the plate. He drove a deep fly-ball into the right field corner that looked sure to fall for an extra-base hit and a pair of RBIs, but in one of the finest defensive plays you will ever see, Dennis Rudolph '18 laid out to make a diving over-the-shoulder catch. Elmira turned to its bullpen following the near-hit and Joe Marigliano '17 expunged the brewing fire with strong work out of the pen to keep the lead at 8-2.
 
EC tacked on the final run of the contest when Bawiec came home to score on a balk by Houghton reliever Aaron Burnside. Nick Zorge '19 retired the only batter he faced, while Blake Phelps '19 navigated a walk and pair of hits to turn in a scoreless ninth inning of work.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Corey Paluga on getting the first Empire 8 win of the season…
"We spent much of this week talking about taking advantage of an opportunity. We have played well even though we may not have secured as many wins as we would have liked to this point. We always say that the most important game is always the next one. Looking at the standings, even though we came into the weekend without a win, we are still not out of it as long as we continued to focus one game at a time and start getting the results we needed. Now we got that first one out of the way and can go into tomorrow with a little confidence."
 
Paluga on getting off to a strong start to today's game…
"I think everything kind of started in the top of the first inning, being able to retire them one-two-three to begin the game. The offense really seized that momentum. We emphasized what we do well, getting on base, laying down bunts and getting our running game going to put pressure on the defense. We were able to do all of these things to get an early lead, which certainly helped us play with confidence."
 
Paluga on Sampogna bearing down with runners on base…
"He does an excellent job of being able to block things out, whether it be a mistake pitch that turns into a hit or a walk. His mentality and focus never wavers regardless of the situation, whether it be pitching to a lead-off batter of the inning or pitching with runners on base. You have to give [Houghton] credit because they had several innings where they were able to get runners in scoring position, but Sampogna and really our entire staff was able to come up with some big pitches to minimize the damage. It very easily could have been an entirely different story here today without some clutch pitching and defense from our team."
 
Paluga on Rothenberg's big day…
"His performance today is something that we are going to continue to need from him at the top of our lineup. He is in a position where he's going to get opportunities to drive in runs if the bottom of our lineup is doing its job. I think at times this season he has kind of pressed himself into doing too much at the plate. When he keeps things simple, the game comes so naturally to him. That big hit was so important for him today and I think that will really boost his confidence moving forward."
 
Paluga on Bawiec continuing his strong season…
"He has put great swings on balls all season long. It really comes down to his approach at the plate. He continues to make strides as a young hitter. He had a strong half-season last year and has really picked up where he left off last year. He is a big part of our offense and he proved that again today."
 
Paluga on carrying the momentum into tomorrow…
"Regardless of what happened in tonight's game we just need to continue to have the same mentality heading into tomorrow. If we can continue to take things one at-bat and one game at a time and continue to execute on our strengths, we'll hopefully be able to pull out more positive results."
 
Turning Point
With the game still well in doubt with Elmira clinging to a 3-1 lead, Rothenberg's two-RBI single through a drawn-in infield provided the team some helpful insurance. The hit not only extended the lead, but sparked what would become a five-run inning to blow the game open.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Despite the lopsided score, Houghton actually outhit Elmira 13-to-9 in the contest.
• Defensive miscues proved to be a major difference in the contest. Houghton committed four errors, while Elmira made only one misplay in the field.
• Five Elmira batters collected hits in the contest.
• Bawiec had a monster game, going 3-for-3 with a triple, three runs scored, two RBIs, and a stolen base.
• Wehmeyer also collected three hits, going 3-for-5 with an RBI.
• Rothenberg had a great game, finishing 1-for-2 with three RBIs, one runs scored, two walks, and two stolen bases.
• Rudolph went 1-for-5 with a run scored.
• Zambarano concluded the game 1-for-4 with an RBI.
• Although Bellinger did not record a hit, he scored one run and collect one RBI.
• Plante scored twice, while van Muelken also scored one run.
• Sampogna notched another quality start, throwing 6.1 innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts.
• Marigliano fired 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit and fanning two Highlander hitters.
• Zorge retired the only batter he faced in a scoreless outing.
• Phelps allowed two hits and one walk, while he struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief.

 
News and Notes

• The win was Elmira's first Empire 8 victory of the season.
• The victory snapped a four-game losing streak.
• Elmira is now 2-2 all-time against Houghton.
• Elmira set a new single-game program record with seven stolen bases.
• Bawiec stretched his streak of getting on base to 31 straight games with his 3-for-3 effort.
• Bawiec has now collected three hits in two consecutive games, while today was his fifth three-hit effort of the season.
• Rothenberg set a new career high with three RBIs.
• Wehmeyer set a new career high with three hits.
• Sampogna notched his fifth consecutive quality start in which he has allowed three earned runs or less. He also equaled his career high with seven strikeouts.

 
Up Next
Elmira and Houghton resume the three-game set tomorrow afternoon when the two programs clash in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.