Elmira, NY -- History was made Saturday evening at one of the most historical sites in Elmira, NY, Dunn Field, as the Elmira College baseball team earned their first win as a collegiate program with a 9-5 victory over visiting Houghton College. Elmira's historical win came in the second game of an Empire 8 Conference doubleheader against Houghton, a team the Soaring Eagles were facing for a fourth time this season.  Today's win is also Elmira's first victory against an Empire 8 Conference opponent. 
 
"It's a great day for the program" said Head Coach Corey Paluga, who also picks up his first collegiate win as a head coach.  "I couldn't be more proud of the coaching staff and the players."
 
Game One Recap
Four errors, two walks, and a hit batter in the top of the second inning turned into a 4-0 lead for Houghton, a lead that would grow to 11-0 in the top of the fifth inning.  However, Elmira rallied in the sixth inning with five runs, beginning with a one-out RBI triple by Jordan Marquez '18 that brought across EC's first run of the day.
 
Sean Shepardson '18 and Hayden Rothenberg '17 also drove-in runs in the inning, cutting Houghton's lead to 11-5.  Unfortunately, the Highlanders responded with four runs in the top of the seventh, all but sealing a 15-5 victory.  Elmira finished with 13 hits in game one, tying their season-high.
 
Game Two Recap
The second game of today's twinbill was significantly different for the Soaring Eagles, much of which had to do with the efforts on the mound by EC starting pitcher Dennis Rudolph '18.  Rudolph tossed 8.1 innings of three-run ball, striking out five batters in the process of earning his first collegiate win.  He threw 135 pitches, 99 of which were strikes, as he was able to get nine batters to fly out and another nine to ground out.
 
Offensively, Elmira saw two players log multi-hit games, including Dylan Bellinger '17 and Jack Thistle '18.  Bellinger went 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run scored, and one intentional walk.  Thistle on the other hand went 2-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.
 
Elmira took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Thistle brought-in Shepardson from third base.  Shepardson began the inning by reaching safely on a throwing error by Houghton's third baseman, an error that let him reach third base, allowing Thistle to bring him in for the game's first run.
 
The Soaring Eagles tacked on three more in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-0 lead.  Marquez began the four-run inning with a hot shot up the middle before being moved over the second base thanks to sacrifice bunt by fellow infielder Rey Colon '18.  Shepardson was EC's next batter and would reach safely on an infield single, putting runners on the corners for Thistle.
 
From there, Thistle would reach on an error which scored Marquez from third and moved Shepardson to second.  EC's next batter, Rothenberg, would advance both runners an extra base on a deep fly out to right field, putting them in scoring position for Bellinger.
 
With two outs, Bellinger took the second pitch he saw and laced it into center field, scoring both Shepardson and Rothenberg to give the Purple and Gold a 4-0 lead. 
 
Ahead 4-0, Rudolph continued to shut down the Highlander batters, and in the fourth inning he let his fielders show off some of their defensive skills.  With one out, Houghton's Michael Kerr doubled to right field, putting a runner in scoring position for just the second time in the game.  However, on the next-at bat, Patrick Parsons lined one directly to EC second baseman Colon, who after snagging the ball out of the air, made a quick throw to Bryce Plante '18 for an inning-ending double play.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Elmira's designated hitter, Alexander Taulien '17, delivered one of the biggest hits in the program's young history as he sent the first pitch he saw over the left field wall for EC's first-ever home run.  Taulien's solo shot gave the Soaring Eagles a 5-0 lead, but more importantly, it put all of the momentum on Elmira's side.
 
Houghton cut into Elmira's lead for the first time in the top of the fifth thanks to a two-out RBI double by Garret Kirkpatrick, putting the score at 5-1.  However, Elmira answered in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI sacrifice fly by Brian Wehmeyer '17 that scored Thistle from third, putting EC on top 6-1.
 
The sixth inning would see the Highlanders cut the Soaring Eagle lead in half, 6-3, as an RBI single and double allowed for a pair of Houghton players to cross home plate. 
 
Elmira clung to their three-run lead until the bottom of the seventh, when the Purple and Gold opened the game up with a three-run inning to take a 9-3 lead, the largest EC lead that late in a game.  The Soaring Eagles put their first three runners on base safely, as Wehmeyer stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. 
 
With the bases full and the potential for Elmira to blow the game wide open, the pressure got to Houghton as Edward Monthie let one of his pitches get away from him, allowing Thistle to score from third on the wild pitch.  Now with runners on second and third, Wehmeyer laced a shot into right center field, scoring both Haydenberg and Bellinger to give EC an intimidating 9-3 lead.
 
Houghton once again tried to rally in the eighth as they began the inning with a lead-off single and would put another runner on base thanks to a two-out walk.  However, with two outs, Rudolph would get Houghton's Joseph Gilligan to strike out on three pitches, ending the Highlander threat.
 
Still leading 9-3 in the top of the ninth, Elmira looked to close the door on the Highlanders and walk away with their first collegiate win.  Rudolph, who remained in the game in the ninth, would get the first Houghton batter to ground out but walked the next batter, forcing Coach Paluga to make a pitching change, as he opted to have lefty hurler Zack Stone '18 close-out today's game.
 
Stone saw the first two batters he faced reach safely on a walk and a single, as Houghton cut the score to 9-4.  He would however get the next Highlander batter to ground out but Houghton scored on the play, cutting Elmira's lead to 9-5 with two outs. 
 
Houghton again showed their resilience as they had their next two batters reach safely on an infield single and a walk, loading the bases for pinch hitter Brett Rapan.  With the potential game-tying run at the plate, Elmira fans were anxious to see just one more out occur.  They wouldn't have to wait long as Stone froze Rapan on his fifth pitch of the at-bat, as he recorded a strikeout to seal Elmira's first win of the season, a 9-5 victory. 
 
Elmira will be back in action on Monday, April 13th as the Soaring Eagles travel to take on the University of Scranton in a non-conference nine-inning game.  The opening pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. in Scranton, PA.