Houghton’s Kade Farrell, left, celebrates an inside-the-park grand slam against Lake Linden-Hubbell on Monday, May 10, 2021, in Houghton, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Houghton High School baseball team scored early and often en route to a doubleheader sweep against Lake Linden-Hubbell on Monday.

Houghton won 15-0 in the first game and 14-0 in the second.

The Gremlins took advantage of the Lakes’ inexperienced pitching and their inconsistency around the strike zone. Kade Farrell’s inside-the-park grand slam in the first inning of the first game made it 9-0.

“I thought our kids played real well defensively,” Houghton head coach Joe Romano said. “Defensively we played real good. Offensively we hit the ball. (LL-H is) young.”

The first game ended after three innings and the second game ended after the top half of the fourth. The Lakes used the opportunity to get multiple players on the mound and different positions in the field.

“Our kids struggled with the wind. We had a few errors and we walked a few kids,” Lake Linden-Hubbell head coach Leon Sutherland said. “But we did get a few kids a chance to pitch in a nonconference game. So we tried to rotate all our kids through and make sure everybody got some reps.”

The Gremlins set the tone early in the day with a nine-run first inning. Houghton pushed the first five runs across with an RBI double by Brandon Norkol. Reid Heathman scored a run with a sacrifice fly. Jonah Horning drove in two runs with a single and another scored on a passed ball. Two walks loaded the bases for Farrell, who squared up with a drive to deep center that he turned into an inside-the-park slam.

The Gremlins were originally scheduled to play L’Anse, but the Purple Hornets canceled because of COVID-19 cases at the school.

Houghton visits Calumet at 4 p.m. today. LL-H visits Jeffers on Thursday.