HOUGHTON, NY – Hilbert College Baseball got back in the win column this afternoon with a sweep over the Alfred University Saxons. The Hawks outscored the Saxons 20-7 on the day in what was the first two meetings between the squads.
Both
Joe Reitebach and
Jase Burdon improved to 2-0 on the season with four inning, one run efforts. Reitebach allowed just two hits over his four game one frames, while Burdon fanned five Saxon batters in his four innings of work.
Joey Haynes set the tone at the top of the Hawks' lineup all afternoon as the sophomore went 6-9 with three RBIs, three runs scored, and a pair of doubles.
Jack Duffek,
Austin Wasily,
Alex Ellison, and
Logan Hoyt joined Haynes with multi-hit games, while Hoyt's five RBIs in game two led the Hawks on the day.
Game One: Hilbert 7 – Alfred University 1
Game Two: Hilbert 13 – Alfred University 6
Game One:
- Both offenses started off slow with the scoreboard remaining unchanged after two innings of play. Reitebach made quick work of the Saxons in this span, recording a pair of strikeouts.
- After Haynes (single) and Harley Hoag (walk) each got on base to lead off the top of the third, back-to-back doubles from Dustin Hendrix and Nolan Evans (two RBI) opened up a 3-0 advantage for the Hawks.
- Reitebach continued to cruise with a three up, three down home half of the third, before Hendrix's second RBI of the game (sac fly) scored Haynes to make it a 4-0 game in the top of the fourth. The Saxons would get on the board in the bottom of the frame, but Reitebach ended his outing with a groundout and a strikeout to limit the damage.
- David Alessi, Ryan Hilton, and Brendan Walsh combined to keep Alfred off the scoreboard the next two innings, and a three-run final frame from the Hawks shut the door on a comeback attempt.
- Ellison scored on a balk, before Haynes and Hoag each knocked in their first run of the game to send Walsh back on the mound with a six-run cushion.
- The program's all-time saves leader added another to his total after three quick outs wrapped up the 7-1 Hilbert victory.
Hendrix and Evans led the Hawks with two RBIs each and Haynes added three runs to his 3-5 performance at the dish.
Alessi, Hilton, and Walsh locked down the back end of the game as the trio combined to allow just two hits while striking out four.
Game Two:
- After a blank top of the first from the Hawks, Alfred opened the scoring in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single to make it 1-0. However, Hilbert would quickly respond with three runs in the top of the second for the early two-run advantage. Hoyt doubled to score a pair, while Haynes continued his hot day at the plate with an RBI single.
- After the early run allowed, Burdon settled in and allowed just three more base runners throughout the rest of his outing. The freshman right-hander struck out the final batter of the fourth to send the game to the top of the fifth inning with the Hawks still up 3-1.
- In the frame, the Hawks' offense blew the game open with eight runs to stretch the lead to 11-1. Ellison (two), Hoyt (two), Wasily, Haynes, and Duffek recorded RBI's in the inning, while Reed Lesmeister stole home after singling earlier in the inning.
- The Saxons added three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, but Hilbert answered with an RBI triple from Ellison, and Hoyt's fifth RBI of the game in the top of the sixth to restore the commanding advantage.
- Alfred tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, but that would end the scoring in the contest as the Hawks took the sweep and the 13-6 win after a scoreless seventh inning.
Haynes, Duffek, Wasily, Hoag, Ellison, and Hoyt all reached base multiple times in the contest, while Hoyt (five) and Ellison (three) combined for eight RBIs.
After Burdon's strong outing,
Spencer Harford,
Jacob Kim-Kubiak,
William Hudson, and
David Alessi split the final three innings to wrap up the win.
Up Next
Hilbert continues non-conference play on Sunday, March 23
rd with a trip to Meadville, Pa to take on Allegheny College. Game one of the twin bill is slated to begin at 1 pm.