ALFRED, N.Y. – Hilbert College Baseball traveled to Alfred this afternoon for an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference doubleheader with the Alfred State Pioneers that had major postseason seeding implications. After entering the day in first place in the AMCC, the Hawks dropped down to fifth place after a Pioneers sweep.
A four-run top of the seventh gave Hilbert a 6-4 lead after trailing for much of the game, but the Pioneers put up three runs in the bottom of the seventh for the walk-off win in game one.
Alfred State got out to an early 3-0 lead in game two and got three more runs to double the lead in the bottom of the seventh to build a 6-0 lead that the Hawks could not come back from in the 7-2 victory for the Pioneers.
Game 1:
The offenses were quiet to start game one with the first hit not coming until the bottom of the third. The opening hit of the game would be an RBI double for the Pioneers that broke the scoreless tie and gave Alfred State a 1-0 lead.
Patrick Whelan got Hilbert's first hit of the contest with a single to lead off the top of the fourth. After moving around to third base on a pair of ground outs, Whelan tied the game on an Alfred State error.
The Pioneers continued the scoring in the bottom of the fourth when they answered the Hilbert run with a run of their own to regain the lead and make it a 2-1 game.
After a scoreless fifth inning, the base running of
John Riviere-Vejas knotted the game up at two all. The Hawks' all-time leader in runs scored, singled to lead off the inning, stole second base, advanced to third on an error, and tied the game on a wild pitch in the top of the sixth.
However, a leadoff home run and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth gave the Pioneers an immediate answer and their largest lead of the game at 4-2.
Needing a big inning to extend the game, the Hawks got four runs in the top of the seventh for a 6-4 advantage, their first lead of the game. An RBI single from
Alex Ellison, RBI fielder's choice from Riviere-Vejas, and a two RBI double from Whelan put the Hawks three outs away from victory with a two-run lead.
Three runs on four hits in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Alfred State the late come back and the 7-6 walk-off win.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Game 2:
Alfred State grabbed the first three runs of game two, with one run in the bottom of the first and a pair of runs in the bottom of the second for a 3-0 lead.
The Hilbert offense got doubled from
Nolan Evans in the first,
Patrick Whelan in the sixth, and
Jairo Santos in the seventh, but could not capitalize with any runs until the eighth inning.
Before the Hawks got their first runs of the game on a Whelan two run home run in the top of the eighth, the Pioneers doubled their lead with three runs in the bottom of the seventh.
After Whelan's homer made it 6-2, Alfred State scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-2, which would be how this one ended as the hosts took the AMCC sweep.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Whelan put up another 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI performance after his two-run home run in the seventh got the Hawks on the board.
- Ryan Hilton threw 6.1 innings making the start on the mound and Blaine Morgan and Alex Rumfola pitched the remaining 1.2 innings for the Hawks.
Up Next:
The Hawks will be back in action tomorrow against Penn State Altoona in a crucial AMCC doubleheader with a home playoff game on the line. The two-game set will begin at 1:30 pm.
