IMMACULATA, PA- In their first CSAC matchup of the 2018 season the Highlanders split their contest with the Mighty Macs of Immaculata, taking game one 5-1 and dropping the afternoon's second contest 5-9.
 
In game one the Highlanders rode stellar pitching performances from Emilio Alvarez and Sam Dralle to the win. Alvarez gave up only two hits in his five innings of work, while Dralle closed the door with his two perfect innings. The Highlanders trailed for the first three innings after a sacrifice fly staked the Mighty Macs to a 1-0 lead, but Cairn bounced back in the fourth in a major way. Jacob Allen set the table with a leadoff walk, and despite outs from Brian Amantia and Nate Wilson, the Highlanders did not relent. Alvarez smacked a single to left center, and Allen came all the way around to score from first thanks to an error from the Immaculata shortstop. Brett Marks singled home Alvarez, and Daniel Morales roped his own single to the left field gap to score Marks and put the Highlanders ahead 3-1. The Highlanders tacked on two more insurance runs in the fifth after Adam Juarez manufactured a run by walking, stealing third, and scoring on a passed ball. With a four run lead, Sam Dralle shut the door with ease, inducing a ground out and two pop ups in the sixth, and striking out the side in the seventh for Cairn's 12^th win of the year.
 
The Highlanders bats went quiet in the second game, as Immaculata jumped on Highlanders starter Nat Ross and his relief Carson Conradt to take a 9-0 lead in the fourth inning. The Highlanders battled back, scoring three runs in the sixth and two more in the ninth, but the nine run deficit was simply too much to overcome. Brian Amantia and Andrew Philips each went 2-3 in the second game to lead the offense, while Daniel Morales and Isaac Morrison provided strong efforts on the mound in relief.
 
The Highlanders have started the season off swimmingly, but will be tested over the coming weeks as conference play is heating up. The Highlanders will play next when they host Marywood University at 3:30 PM Tuesday afternoon.