ERIE, Pa. – The Hilbert College softball team is still in the mix for a play-off sport after they split their AMCC double header with Penn State Altoona this afternoon at the Penn State Behrend diamond.

The Lions won the opening game, 3-2 in a defensive battle before the Hawks took the nightcap, 7-2, with a big 4-run 6th inning effort.

Hilbert at 13-12 overall established a new program win record and are three AMCC wins away from breaking the program's conference win record.  The Hawks at 7-6, sit in 4th place as they turn the corner and head to the final week of their league schedule.

GAME ONE

Hilbert scored the game's first run in the bottom of the 1st and added their second run in the 5th which knotted the game at 2-2.  The Lions poked their winning run home off a single to the outfield in the top of the 7th.

Rachel Allen struck out seven, walked one and gave up seven hits in the loss.

The Hawks were held to only two hits which were earned by Maia Delaney and Melanie Basile, who whacked a triple in the first inning as the lead-off batter.

Jenna Castricone grounded into the RBI in the opening inning and an Altoona error gave the Hawks their second run in the game.

GAME TWO

The nightcap looked as if it would mirror the opening game with a low scoring contest.  But the Lions six errors which spanned two innings, cost them the game.

The Hawks trailed 2-1 as they headed into the bottom of the 5th.  Hilbert had one hit and benefited from three Altoona errors to score a pair of runs and regain the lead.

Then in the 6th, the Lions opened with back-to-back errors before Hannah Prenoveau knocked in the first of a four-run inning.  With two outs, Castricone stayed alive with a fielding error that scored two more runs and set the final at 7-2.

Gabriella Bongiorno went 2-for-3 and matched Morgan McNeill with a double bagger.

Marisa McIntyre tossed a 3-hit complete game and settled for one earned run going the full distance to improve to 6-5 in the circle.

 Hilbert closes their weekend with hopeful games over the next two days.

The Hawks will host their Senior Day game to honor Jenna Castricone at 1pm tomorrow against Mt. Aloysius.  They are then scheduled to host a single make-up game against D'Youville Sunday in Hamburg at 12 pm.  Should the weather become an issue, the game might be played at Dobson Field at 6pm Sunday night.

And finally, Hilbert will host Medaille May 1st in Hamburg with the hopes of pushing through to the program's second AMCC post-season appearance

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawks scores and awards by following @HilbertAthletic on Twitter and by liking the "Hilbert College Athletics" Facebook page.  Additionally, fans of the Hawks who have an Apple device can receive push notification from the newly created Hilbert College Hawks iOS SIDEARM mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and ITunes.