ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College baseball team will look to continue its strong start to Empire 8 Conference play in Houghton, New York, on Saturday, April 1, when the Soaring Eagles visit the Highlanders of Houghton College for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. The Purple and Gold will then return to Dunn Field to host Cazenovia College on Sunday, April 2, with first pitch also slated for 1:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles salvaged a split of a non-conference doubleheader against Wells College on Tuesday, March 28, with an explosive performance in the nightcap. After nearly being no-hit in the opener, EC produced season highs in hits (13) and runs (16) en route to a 16-1 romp.
Dennis Rudolph '18 stole the show by hitting his first two collegiate home runs in the first and third innings, which helped the Purple and Gold jump out to a 7-0 lead. Elmira tacked on two more runs in the fourth, three in the fifth –
Dylan Bellinger '17 drove in a pair with a two-run single – and two more in the seventh. Rudolph finished 2-for-5 with five RBIs, while Bellinger was 3-for-4 at the dish with three runs and three RBIs. Right-hander
Joe Kidd '18 hurled 4.0 innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Out of the bullpen,
Corey DeMauro '20,
Anthony Colegrove '18, and
Nick Cottone '19 each threw a scoreless inning in relief.
REINDEER GAMES
After striking out with the bases loaded to end the early game at Wells,
Dennis Rudolph recovered in a powerful way. In his first two at-bats in the second game of the doubleheader, the third-year outfielder launched a pair of homers over the opposite field wall in right. Not only are they the first two dingers of his career, but they made Rudolph the first player in Elmira's brief history to slug multiple homers in a single game. Rudolph also tied a record he previously held for most RBIs (5). On the season, the Glen Ellyn, Illinois, native is batting .290, and with three of his nine hits going for extra bases, he's slugging .516.
NO KIDDING
Joe Kidd was one of Elmira's top arms during the inaugural 2015 campaign, as he led the Soaring Eagles with 31 strikeouts and compiled 44.2 innings of work, second-most on the team. After missing last season, the right-hander appears to be hitting his stride following a solid outing against the Express. He surrendered just one run on four hits while striking out four, tying a personal record for the fewest runs he's allowed in a start. In addition, the Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, product earned his first victory on the mound since May 2, 2015.
HOUGHTON AT A GLANCE
The Highlanders enter the weekend conference series riding a four-game skid, dropping their record to 7-9. The last three losses came at the hands of the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology last weekend, resulting in an 0-3 start to E8 play. Despite averaging less than three runs per game over its recent downturn, Houghton still leads the league in scoring with 7.6 runs per game. The Highlanders earned their first win of the 2017 campaign in impressive fashion, tallying 20 runs in a 20-10 triumph over Eastern University on March 2. They also plated 17 runs in a blowout of Delaware Valley two days later. Taylor Huntsman and Tage Johnson have each started all 16 games and boast averages of .352 and .346, respectively. However, it is freshman Nicholas Melchiore who leads the club with 19 RBIs, thanks in part to a seven-RBI performance on March 7 against Fredonia. Houghton's pitching staff has been erratic, as it has issued a league-worst 113 walks, which hasn't helped its 6.51 team ERA.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. HOUGHTON
Elmira is 3-4 all-time against the Highlanders and an even 3-3 in Empire 8 contests. Although the Soaring Eagles won last year's series, two-games-to-one, Houghton had the last laugh with an 8-4 victory in the finale on April 16 at historic Dunn Field.
CAZENOVIA AT A GLANCE
The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 1-9 overall record through their first 10 games, all of which took place during a spring break trip to Florida between March 3-10. Cazenovia has dropped four in a row since handing Emerson College its first loss of the season back on March 7. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Lions, Caz cruised to a 4-1 win on the arm of sophomore Bobby Antonacci. The second-year righty tossed a complete seven-inning game, surrendering the lone run on four hits while striking out nine. Antonacci was one of five pitchers to throw a complete game in Florida, although he was the only one to come out on the winning end. While producing runs has been a struggle for the Wildcats in 2017 - they have mustered a mere .193 batting average with 2.6 runs scored per game - the team looks to be hitting its stride, as Caz recorded season highs with 10 hits and four doubles in its most recent loss, a 6-5 defeat at the hands of Penn State Altoona on March 10.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CAZENOVIA
Elmira and Cazenovia have met on one previous occasion. During EC's inaugural season in 2015, the Soaring Eagles registered their first-ever walk-off victory at historic Dunn Field with an 8-7 win over the Wildcats. The two teams entered the ninth inning knotted at 7-all and
Nick Sampogna '18 worked around a two-out double to post a scoreless frame in the top of the ninth.
Rey Colon '18 led off the home half of the inning with a double and came around to score on a base hit from
Conor Bawiec '18.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Soaring Eagles will continue their six-game homestand at Dunn Field on Tuesday, April 4, with a non-conference contest against Hilbert College at 3:00 p.m.
