LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University baseball team won, 13-8, at home in game one of their three-game Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) series with Saint Elizabeth University on Friday evening.
 
Cairn (9-15, 2-5 CSAC) struck first in the bottom of the third inning, when sophomore Dylan Jackson (Levittown, PA / Chestnut Hill College) delivered an RBI-double into the gap in right-center to put Cairn on top, 1-0. The Highlanders extended their advantage in the fifth frame, when senior Sam Spadea (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury) and Jackson recorded back-to-back home runs (three-run homer by Spadea) to increase the Cairn lead over Saint Elizabeth (11-14, 7-3 CSAC) to 5-0. The big inning for Cairn came the very next frame, as the Highlanders threw up a six-spot to take an 11-0 lead into the later portion of the contest. Saint Elizabeth made a formidable comeback after Highlander sophomore pitcher Ronaldhino Alcin (Miami, FL / North Miami Beach) left the game after six innings of shutout ball, as the Eagles scored six runs in the seventh inning to get back in the contest. SEU cut the deficit to just three the very next inning off a two-run homer (11-8). Cairn got two insurance runs in the bottom half of the eighth (13-8), courtesy of junior Jake Meisel's (Newark, DE / Rosemont College) two-RBI double down the left-field line, before the Highlanders closed the door in the ninth inning to seal the victory.
 
Cairn was led offensively by Jackson, freshman Zach Bauers (Cooper City, FL / Cooper City) and senior Tyler Fox (Boyertown, PA / West-Mont Christian Academy). Jackson went three-for-three at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in two more, while Bauers posted a game-high four hits. Fox added three knocks and a pair of runs. Spadea homered for the third consecutive game, and drove in a game-high four runs, becoming just the third player in program history to reach 100 career RBIs.
 
Alcin put together the best collegiate performance of his career on the mound, moving to 3-0 on the season after tossing six innings of one-hit ball and striking out a career-high 11 hitters. Freshman Nick Benson (Philadelphia, PA / Father Judge) closed the game for the Highlanders with a scoreless ninth inning.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the diamond on Sunday, April 16 when they wrap up their conference series with Saint Elizabeth in a doubleheader to be played on the campus of FDU Florham at 12 p.m.