Langhorne, PA - On Tuesday morning the Highlanders were scheduled to square off with Central Penn and traveled to Harrisburg for a double-dip. Mother Nature had other plans as the games were washed out and rescheduled as a single game in Langhorne on Thursday. The Highlanders made the most of playing on their home field, scoring 14 runs on 14 hits in a 14-1 victory over the Knights on Thursday afternoon.
Jackson Godfrey earned his first-career victory with three innings of scoreless relief out of the Highlanders' bullpen. The sophomore allowed one hit while walking three and striking out five.
At the dish, four Highlanders earned multi-hit games.
Brendan Keller extended his hitting streak to nine games with a 4-6 effort at the plate to lead Cairn. The freshman scored a pair of runs and drove home two more out of the two-hole.
The Highlanders jumped on the board early with an unearned run in the bottom of the first. Josh Field reached on an error by the third baseman that allowed Keller to score from third.
The Knights tied the game up at 1-1 on a fielder's choice in the second, but Cairn's starter,
Cam Kantner, limited the damage and left the bases loaded with a groundout to first ending the frame.
In the bottom of the third,
Aaron Takacs singled up the middle to score
Nathan Wilson from second. Wilson had reached earlier in the inning on an error by the Central Penn pitcher.
Cairn held the slim, 2-1 lead before they broke it open for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth. Cairn knocked only three hits in the frame, but took advantage of five walks, including three with the bases loaded, to put up the crooked number. After
Jacob Allen walked and Keller doubled to start the inning, Wilson singled to bring them both home and give Cairn a 4-1 lead.
After three bases loaded walks put Cairn up 7-1, Keller singled through the left side to bring home two and give the Highlanders an eight-run lead.
Cairn added insurance with an RBI double by
Jacob Allen in the seventh, before really putting the game out of reach with a four-spot in the eighth. Pinch hitting in the eighth,
Romeo Sturkey singled in his first career at bat and drove home Takacs from third. He later came around to score on a
Keith LeNoue double to center.
Daniel Morales and Allen also collected RBI in the inning.
Matthew Meyers shut down the Knights in the ninth and Cairn won their ninth game of the season by a 14-1 final.
The Highlanders' pitching staff allowed just four hits in the game and the defense was flawless in the field. It is Cairn's sixth game without an error this season.
Cairn improves to 9-5 on the season with the victory and they will next take the field on Saturday with a CSAC game against Gwynedd Mercy slated to begin at home at 2:00 p.m. The Highlanders and Griffins will complete their three-game series on Sunday in Gwynedd Valley with a doubleheader scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The entire three-game series was pushed back one day due to the forecast of rain on Friday.
