HOUGHTON, N.Y. — The Keuka College Baseball team opened their Empire 8 Conference series at Houghton University with a win on Friday, topping the Highlanders 4-2.

Josh Tryon (Elmira, N.Y. / Elmira Heights) had three hits for Keuka College (5-14, 1-6 Empire 8) including a double and a triple. Nolan Quinn (Aurora, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) also finished with three hits and scored a pair of runs. On the mound, Spencer Brown (Feura Bush, N.Y. / Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) pitched into the eighth inning to earn the win. Ethan Tillotson (Pavilion, N.Y. / Pavilion) retired all four batters he faced to earn his second save of the season.

Keuka College 4 at Houghton University 2

Houghton took the lead first as a leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning would come around on a stolen base and pair of groundouts for the 1-0 advantage.

The Wolves tied the game up quickly in the third. Nolan Quinn led off with a double down the leftfield line. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by RJ Murphy (Syracuse, N.Y. / West Genesee) to tie the game. The Wolves would continue to threaten with a walk by Donald Nemeth (Guilderland, N.Y. / Guilderland) and a single by Connor Springer (Irondequoit, N.Y. / Irondequoit) loading the bases with one out. However, the Wolves would leave the bases loaded without taking a lead. Through the first three innings, Keuka had eight runners left on base.

The Wolves were not deterred and took the lead an inning later. With two outs, Quinn singled and Murphy doubled for the Wolves. Matt Vaccaro (Fayetteville, N.Y. / Fayetteville-Manlius) walked to load the bases. Donald Nemeth doubled to center field to score Quinn and Murphy and give Keuka College a 3-1 lead.

On the mound, Spencer Brown was efficient with his pitches and kept the Highlanders off-balance all game. The Green and Gold added to their lead in the seventh as the combination of a Tyler Lewandowski (Milltown, N.J. / Spotswood) double and a Josh Tryon triple gave the Wolves an insurance run.

The Highlanders again scored a run on an RBI groundout in the seventh to make it 4-2. A two-out single in the eighth ended the night for Brown, but Ethan Tillotson came on to get the final out of the inning. Tillotson then retired the Highlanders in order in the ninth to secure the 4-2 victory.

KC Notes:

• Keuka College is now 6-9 all-time against Houghton University
• It was the fewest runs the Wolves have allowed to the Highlanders in the 15-game series
• Brown and Tillotson worked to contact to retire the Highlanders. The duo each recorded only one strikeout in the game. The two strikeouts as a team were the fewest in a win since the 2019 season
• With the K, Spencer Brown moved into sole possession of second on the Keuka College career strikeout list with 102
• RJ Murphy tied his personal best streak, recording a hit in six straight games
• Nolan Quinn made his first career start in center for the Wolves. He recorded five putouts in the win

Up Next for Keuka College: The three-game series will conclude on Saturday afternoon at Houghton. The Wolves and the Highlanders will square off in an Empire 8 doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Keuka and Houghton have split their last three doubleheaders.