ERIE, PA – Hilbert College Softball suffered its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference tournament defeat this afternoon at the hands of the undefeated Penn State Behrend Lions. After the 6-1 loss, the Hawks will regroup for an elimination game this afternoon with the opponent yet to be determined.
 
The hosting Lions wasted no time putting runs on the board, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first after a 1-2-3 top half of the inning from Hilbert.
 
The Hawks were able to get runners on first in each of the next two innings thanks to a Victoria Hanley single and a Makenna Smith walk, but Behrend did not allow them to advance any further as Hilbert remained scoreless through three innings.
 
The Lions extended their lead in the bottom of the third to 3-0 after a triple and a sacrifice fly.
 
After a scoreless fourth inning, Hilbert got the bats going in the top of the fifth. Hanley's second single of the game, followed by a Brooke Feliciano single gave the Hawks runners on first and second. Kaitlin Stolowski's single scored pinch-runner Avery Cusack to make it a 3-1 game and put runners on second and third with two outs. A popout to the catcher limited the damage and left the tying run stranded in scoring position.
 
Penn State Behrend immediately regained the three-run lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth, and then extended it to a five-run advantage in the bottom of the sixth with two more runs.
 
Three straight Hilbert outs in the top of the seventh ended the contest and continued the Lions' perfect AMCC campaign.
 
Up Next:

The Hawks will look to avoid elimination this afternoon as they take on the winner of the Penn State Altoona, Mount Aloysius matchup at 4:30 pm.