HAMBURG, N.Y. – Hilbert College Baseball hosted La Roche today in the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference playoffs. The visiting Redhawks swept the Hawks in two games to move on to the double elimination tournament next weekend and end the Hilbert season.

Game 1:

La Roche jumped out to an early lead in game one, scoring once in both the first and second innings to hold a 2-0 advantage after two.
 
After a scoreless third inning, the bats came alive on both sides in the fourth as the teams combined for a seven-run frame.
 
La Roche got things started in the fourth with three runs in the top half for a 5-0 lead, but the Hawks answered with their first four runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 5-4.
 
A two RBI single from Jairo Santos, RBI single from Alex Ellison, and a sacrifice fly from Griffin McAndrews got Hilbert right back in the game.
 
With both starters pitching deep into the game, the scoring slowed down after the big fourth inning as neither team added to the scoreboard until the Hawks knotted the game up at 5-5 in the bottom of the eight.
 
Konner Hauck's RBI double scored Nolan Evans to tie the game and put Santos on third in position to grab a late lead for the Hawks. However, two quick outs left runners stranded on second and third and sent the game to the ninth.
 
Hilbert starter Dylan Moorhouse began the ninth on the mound, recording the first out, but his day came to an end after a single. The first-year Hawk ended his campaign with an 8.1 inning outing where he allowed three earned runs and just one walk while striking out three Redhawks.
 
In his program-leading 60^th appearance for the Hawks, Brendan Walsh recorded the final two outs of the top of the ninth to give his team a chance to end the game in the bottom of the inning.
 
After getting runners on first and second with no outs thanks to a Dustin Hendrix walk and a La Roche error, Hilbert's next three batters were sent down to send game one of this best-of-three series to extra innings.
 
The tenth inning saw little action on either side as the only baserunner of the frame belonged to the Redhawks after a Hilbert error.
 
A two-out rally in the top of the eleventh saw La Roche take the lead and position themselves three outs away from a 1-0 series lead. A double and an error scored a pair of runs to make it 7-5 when the Hawks stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eleventh.
 
After Ben Chowaniec's two-out pinch-hit single, the Hawks brought the tying run to the plate with two down, but a flyout to left field ended game with a 7-5 La Roche victory.

BY THE NUMBERS:

• Jairo Santos and Konner Hauck both recorded multiple hits for the Hawks, with two each. Santos' two RBIs were also a game-high for the royal and white.
• Despite the game going eleven innings, only two Hawks saw the mound as Moorhouse and Walsh split the pitching. After Moorhouse threw into the ninth inning, Walsh took the ball the rest of the way, going 2.2 innings allowing one earned run while striking out a batter to set a new program mark in Ks looking.

 
Game 2:

Needing to win just one more game to advance, the Redhawks game out swinging in game two. La Roche used runs in the first four innings to rip off a 10-0 advantage to stun the Hawks.
 
Hilbert got on the board for what would be their lone run of the game in the bottom of the fifth as Nolan Evans' RBI single scored Jairo Santos to stop the La Roche streak of twelve straight runs on the day.
 
La Roche would score once more in the top of the seventh to repair the ten run lead and make it an 11-1 game, which would be how this one wrapped up, sending the Redhawks to the AMCC double elimination game next weekend.

BY THE NUMBERS:

• Jairo Santos, Jack Duffek, and Konner Hauck each had two hits in the contest to account for six of the team's nine hits.
• Freshman Ryan Hilton had a solid outing in relief, throwing five innings while allowing one run and striking out three Redhawks.

 
Up Next:
The losses conclude the Hawks' season, a successful one that saw the 21-18 squad host the program's first playoff game after a second-consecutive 20-win season. The team's ten wins in AMCC regular season play set a new season-high for the Hawks.