MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – In their first game of the 2014 season and on a day they were finally able to touch grass for the first time this spring, the Hilbert College softball team suffered a double-header loss to Rivier College in the Fastpitch Dreams Softball Tournament in South Carolina.

Rivier claimed an opening 3-0 win and then went the distance for an 8-3 victory.  Hilbert's bats were more effective in the nightcap loss as  junior Rachel Collier finished with four hits and freshman Amanda Binder followed with three.

Sophomore Jaelyn Gotham went the full six innings striking out four with five hits for Hilbert.  Sophomore Crystal Hailey led Hilbert in the shut-out loss with two hits.  Rivier notched their first run in the bottom of the 1^st and finished their scoring in the 4th.

Hailey singled to left field in the top of the 3rd and then doubled again in the top of the 6th.  Two batters later, senior Natalie Whitman's single put the Hawks in scoring position.  Rivier threw Whitman out stealing second and Collier grounded out  the next at bat which ended their scoring hopes in the 6th.

Later in the day, Hilbert recovered and Hailey found her way across the plate in the bottom of the 1st off a pass-ball.  The Hawks padded their lead with two more runs in the bottom of the 2nd.  Kateland Ball's triple sent Wyann Jackson home and Eliza Stingham's single to left field pushed Ball home for the 3-0 early lead.

Rivier scored four runs off three hits in the 3rd to take their first lead in the game.  Both teams held defensively through to the top of the 6th when Rivier added four more runs for the final 8-3 score.

Victoria Dzaak covered 5.2 innings while Natalie Whitman closed the game with 1.1 innings in the circle.

Hilbert returns to action tomorrow morning when they take on Keystone College at 1:30pm and then finish the day against Eureka College at 3:30pm.