Houghton, NY – The SUNY Canton baseball team earned an Empire 8 Conference sweep with a pair of victories at Houghton College on Friday. The Roos (6-12, 2-3 E8) took the opener 16-3 before earning an 11-7 victory in the nightcap.

Game 1 - Box Score

The Roos jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning. Jeremy Baez (Bronx, NY) got the scoring started singling through the left side to score Christian Nazario-Cruz (Naguabo, Puerto Rico). Chris Roebuck (Plattsburgh, NY) as Wilson Matos (Bronx, NY) and Baez scored on the play. Brandon Welch (Constable, NY) plated Roebuck on a base hit and he later scored on an RBI single from Derreck DuPont (Catskill, NY).

The Highlanders got three runs back in the third, but SUNY Canton responded with a seven run sixth inning. Bobby Clemente (Carolina, Puerto Rico) scored on a passed ball and Matos scored on an RBI fielder's choice from Seth Douglas (Reedsburg, WI). Baez doubled home Douglas and Roenbeck followed with a double of his own to plate Baez. Welch brought Roenbeck home on an RBI single and Clemente laced a double into the right center field gap to plate Travis Schindler (West Islip, NY) and Welch.

SUNY Canton added three runs in the seventh to close out the convincing victory. Baez doubled down the left field line to score Douglas and Schindler scored Baez on a single to left. Edward Malinoski, Jr. (Evans Mills, NY) rounded out the scoring with a 2 RBI double to left to score Schindler and Welch.

Travis Bigelow (Ottawa, ON) earned his second win of the season on the mound giving up just two earned runs over seven innings.

Game 2 - Box Score

Roenbeck opened the scoring for the Roos in the nightcap with a two run shot to right field in the top of the second. Houghton tied the game at two in the bottom half of the inning. Roenbeck broke the tie an inning later when he walked home Nazario-Cruz. Welch doubled the lead on an RBI groundout to plate Matos.

Douglas gave SUNY Canton a 5-2 lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly to center to score Malinoski. The Highlanders tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the inning. The Roos added four runs in the eighth and two in the ninth for the 11-7 victory.

Luis Caballero (Jacksonville, FL) earned the win on the mound tossing three and one-third innings in relief, while Tom Brusca (Middletown, NY) took the no decision.

The teams are back in action for a single nine inning game on Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. The baseball team is scheduled to be back in action on Tuesday when it hosts its home opener beginning at 4 p.m.