Langhorne, PA - The Cairn baseball team opened the 2017 season with a sweep of the visiting Norwich Cadets on Friday afternoon. The Highlanders scored early in Game One and cruised to an 11-4 victory before fighting through a pitcher's duel in Game Two and taking a 4-2 victory.
 
Game One - Cairn 11 - Norwich 4

The Cairn Highlanders scored eight runs in the first two innings of the 2017 season en route to an 11-4 victory over the Norwich Cadets on Friday afternoon in the frontend of a season opening double-header. Six Highlanders recorded multi-hit games in the season opening victory. Andrew Philips went 3-3 and scored two runs in his collegiate debut. Emilio Alvarez drove home three runs on a 2-3 effort that featured a two-run triple in the first inning.
 
Nathan Wilson went 2-3 in his first collegiate game with a pair of extra-base hits. Wilson smacked an RBI-triple in the second and hit a double to center in the third.
 
Cairn was aggressive on the bases and stole eight bags in the contest. Philips and Wilson each stole two bags in the victory.
 
Sam Dralle pitched four innings for the Highlander to earn the victory. Dralle allowed six hits and four runs (all earned) with six strikeouts across the four innings. Matt Trotman came on in relief and pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth, before Albert Taylor dealt a clean seven to clinch the 11-4 victory.
 
Dralle shut down the Cadets allowing just one runner to reach on a two-out walk. In the bottom of the first, the Highlanders wasted no time jumping all over the Cadets. Cairn's first five batters to step into the box reached base with Emilio Alvarez delivering the big blow in the inning with a two-run triple to clear the bases. With two outs, Philips singled in the infield to drive home Alvarez and Cairn led 5-0 at the end of the first.
 
After a quick second for Norwich, Cairn went right back to work in the bottom of the frame with Jacob Allen and Nathan Wilson going shopping in the right-center gap for extra bases. Allen doubled and Wilson tripled to push the Cairn lead to 6-0. Cairn added two more runs in the frame with an RBI single by Josh Field and a run coming home on a strike out.
 
A consistent theme in the first two frames was Cairn's pressure on the bases. Cairn stole six bags in the first two innings which directly led to their offensive outburst.
 
Norwich responded with two runs in both the third and fourth, but Cairn added insurance runs in the third, fifth and sixth to earn the 11-4 victory.
 

Game Two - Cairn 4  -  Norwich 2

After a 20-minute breather, the Highlanders and Cadets took the field for Game Two. The second game had a very different feel than the first, with the two starters holding much more control of the game. After the Highlanders and Cadets combined for three runs in the first inning, Norwich's Kaleb Smith and Cairn's Kamerom Bradshaw traded zeroes until the bottom of the fifth.
 
Norwich struck first with an RBI single in the top of the first to right-center. The Highlanders countered quickly with Aaron Takacs hammering a two-RBI double to the right-center gap to give Cairn the 2-1 lead.
 
Bradshaw and Smith threw bagels on the scoreboard for the next three frames, but it was not with some pressure-filled moments. Both teams stranded two runners in scoring position in the third and Bradshaw wiggled out of trouble again in the fourth when he stranded two more Cadets.
 
Still leading 2-1 in the fifth, Brendan Keller led off the frame with a bunt single, his second of the day. Keller reached second on the play after the throw to first went off the mark. Jake Allen then stepped to the plate with Keller on second. Allen hit a line-drive up the middle that the Norwich centerfielder snagged with a diving catch. After the catch, Keller raced to third and was waived home by head coach Phill Shallenberger. Keller beat the relay throw and put Cairn up 3-1.
 
Norwich pulled within one in the sixth thanks to an RBI double to center.
 
With the lead at 3-2, Mason Mckinley knocked a single up the middle that drove home pinch-runner Zachary Vegh in the bottom half of the sixth to give Cairn some insurance at 4-2.
 
Albert Taylor once again was called on to close the door. It looked like it was going to be smooth sailing for Taylor, but an infield single and an error put the tying runs on base. A sacrifice bunt put the tying run on second, but Taylor got out of the jam with a fly ball to center that Keller tracked down to end the game and give Taylor his first save of the season. The scoreless top of the seventh to preserved a 4-2 victory for Cairn.
 
Cairn's pitching staff was strong in Game Two. Kameron Bradshaw went five innings allowing three hits, two walks, two hit batsmen, and one run (earned) while striking out three. Caleb Maige pitched the sixth and allowed one run (earned) on two hits, before Taylor closed out the game with one hit and one strikeout in his one inning worked.
 
On the day, five Highlanders collected at least three hits with Jacob Allen leading the way with four base knocks, including two doubles, on the afternoon. Nathan Wilson led the way with three extra-base hits on the afternoon finishing just a home run shy of the cycle between the two games.
 
Emilio Alvarez knocked in a team-high three runs on the day, while Allen and Joshua Field came around to score three runs apiece.
 
With the pair of victories on Friday, Cairn starts the 2017 season 2-0. The Highlanders will next take the field on Thursday, Mar. 2 when they host Valley Forge for a double-header starting at 1:00 p.m.