LANGHORNE, PA – Highlander Baseball hosted Wilson College for games two and three of their conference series on Saturday, handily defeating the Phoenix 8-2 in game one and 12-2 in game two via 10-run rule.
 
GAME ONE
Wilson (12-5 / 6-2 UNITED EAST SKYE DIVISION) was first to score in game one, going ahead 1-0 in the first. Junior outfielder Will Wikner (Gaithersburg, MD / Shenandoah University) led off the bottom half with a single, followed by classmate Dylan Jackson (Levittown, PA / Chestnut Hill College) reaching on a hit by pitch. Both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch as sophomore catcher Zach Bauers (Cooper City, FL / Cooper City) scored Wiker on a ball to the right side. Junior first baseman Tyler Warr (Langhorne, PA / Neshaminy) came up with an RBI double to score Jackson, putting Cairn (10-11 / 5-4 UNITED EAST SKYE DIVISION) up 2-1.
 
Offenses would go quiet until the bottom of the fourth where fifth year outfielder Tyler Fox (Boyertown, PA / West-Mont Christian Academy) led off with a walk and classmate Joe Greenwood (Wall, NJ / Calvary Academy) singled down the right field line to move Fox to third. Jackson walked, putting runners at the corners after a double play. Bauers drove in Fox with a single as Warr singled to the right field gap, scoring Jackson with runners again at the corners. Junior designated hitter Tyler Harris (Oxford, PA / Oxford Area) worked a two out walk to load the bases for freshman shortstop Nathan Schurga (Wilmington, DE / Conrad Schools of Science) who walked in Bauers, putting Cairn up 5-1.
 
Fox and Greenwood opened the fifth with leadoff walks as the Highlanders batted through the order in the fourth. Wikner reached on a bunt where Wilson got Fox out at third. Bauers powered a 2-run double into right centerfield, scoring Greenwood & Wikner. Warr drove in Bauers on an RBI single with the Highlanders in the driver's seat, 8-1.
 
Wilson added a run in the sixth but it wouldn't be enough to overcome the deficit as Cairn evened the series with a game two, 8-2, win.
 
GAME TWO
Cairn opened game two with a run in the first, scoring on a bases loaded walk to Schurga, scoring Wikner after his infield single to lead off the inning. Fox led off the second inning with a walk, Wikner following with a single to left field. Fox stole third, putting runners at the corners with Bauers scoring him on a single up the middle, Cairn ahead 2-0.
 
Wilson answered in the third with a pair of runs on two hits and two errors to tie the score. The Highlanders took the lead back in the fourth with a leadoff single by Fox and walks from Greenwood and Wikner to load the bases. Jackson pulled a double down the right field line, scoring Fox and Greenwood. Bauers added his second hit of the game, a double to left, clearing the bases as Wikner and Jackson scored. Bauers would advance to third on Harris' ball to the right side and be scored by a Schurga single, the Highlanders now up 7-2.
 
In the fifth, Cairn added an insurance run via Greenwood singling and being scored by Wikner. Bauers reached on an error to start the sixth which would burn the Phoenix as Warr sent a ball over the wall in left field for a 2-run homer. The Highlanders took care of business in the seventh as Fox led off with a single up the middle, Greenwood reaching on an error, and Wikner perfectly placing a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Freshman outfielder Zachary Johnson (Hawaii Kai, HI / TCS Post Grad) would drive Fox and Greenwood in with a pinch hit single up the middle to walk off the game in a 10-run rule victory, 12-2.
 
NOTABLES

• Freshman righty Mikey Gutierrez (Cooper City, FL / St. Thomas Aquinas) was the star of game one, throwing a complete game (7 IP) with six strikeouts and a single earned run. The first Highlander complete game since 2022 where, then sophomore, Connor Ferguson & Cam Culver ('23) threw complete games on back-to-back days against Rosemont College. 
• Bauers had four hits on the day, hitting 2-4 in both games with a total of 7 RBI and four runs while gunning down a pair of would-be base stealers on the defensive side.
• Warr had four hits in game one (4-4), five hits and five RBI on the day with a homer and two runs scored. 
• Junior lefties Brett Bottinger (Plymouth Meeting, PA / Chestnut Hill College) and Joe Battaglia (Franklin, TN Brentwood Academy) staffed game two, Bottinger opening with three innings of two unearned runs and the no decision. Battaglia picked up his third win of the season, pitching 4.0 innings of scoreless baseball in relief with two strikeouts.
• Wikner also had five hits on the day, four of his coming in game two as he went 4-4, with four runs and an RBI on the day.

The Highlanders take their first series win from Wilson since the 2019 season where Cairn won two of three before defeating the Phoenix in their first conference playoff appearance.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• The Highlanders will take on the non-conference match ups of Lebanon Valley College (Away Tuesday) and Dickinson College (Home Wednesday) before continuing conference play on Friday & Saturday against Rosemont College.