HAMBURG, NY – Hilbert College Softball hosted the AMCC leading Penn State Altoona Lions this afternoon at Frontier High School. On a day the Hawks honored seniors
Samantha Heppel,
Morgan Ebert,
Mackenzie Catan, and
Emily Lacki prior to first pitch, the team had plenty to celebrate on the field as well as Hilbert took down the Lions in a pair of high-scoring, entertaining matchups.
Game one saw Heppel, Catan, and Lacki all record multi-hit games, while
Kaitlin Stolowski,
Emma Gionta, and
Alana Yadov each produced multiple RBI in the 8-3 victory.
In the night cap Catan continued her great day at the plate with a 2-2, 3 RBI performance and
Miyah Lopez (two), Lacki, Stolowski,
Jazlynn Soliz,
Ava Higgins, and Gionta all chipped in with RBI in the 10-5 come from behind win to earn the sweep.
In the circle,
Kailey Stolowski (W, 7 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 Ks) and Yadov (W, 7 IP, 2 ER, 7 Ks) each earned wins in complete game efforts.
Game One: Hilbert 8 – Penn State Altoona 3
Game Two: Hilbert 10 – Penn State Altoona 5
Game One:
- Altoona got on the board first with a run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead, but Hilbert quickly responded in the home half of the frame in a big way as Yadov's two-run home run to left centerfield made it a 2-1 game after the first inning.
- Following a scoreless second inning, the Lions took the lead back with a pair of runs in the top of the third. However, the Hawks used two runs of their own in the bottom of the third to regain the lead and make it a 4-3 game after three innings of play. Heppel's sacrifice fly scored Gionta to tie the game, before Yadov's single brought home Lacki for the lead.
- After Stolowski made quick work of the Lions in the top of the fourth, the offense of the Hawks continued to produce with four more runs in the home half of the inning. Kailey Stolowski and Catan each doubled to begin the inning, which allowed Gionta's double to bring the duo home to make it 6-3. Hilbert got a second two RBI hit of the inning off the bat of Kaitlin Stolowski to extend the lead to 8-3 heading into the game's final three frames.
- With a five-run advantage and just nine outs left to record, Kailey Stolowski faced only nine batters the rest of the game as she shut down the Altoona offense late in the game to wrap up the 8-3 game one victory.
Game Two:
- After going down 4-0 following the top of the second inning, the Hawks used the next three frames to chip away at the Altoona lead, before blowing the game open in the fifth.
- RBI from both Catan and Kaitlin Stolowski in the second and third innings cut the lead in half, before Catan brought two more runners home in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at four all.
- The Lions regained the lead with a lone run in the top of the fifth, but rally in the bottom half of the inning allowed the Hawks to take a commanding 10-5 lead after five innings.
- Soliz's RBI infield single made it a 5-5 game, before Higgins' sacrifice fly gave the Hawks their first lead of the game. The offense wasn't done there, as Miyah Lopez's two RBI single, Lacki's RBI fielder's choice, and Gionta's RBI single provided three more runs and made it 10-5 Hilbert.
- Despite allowing a double in both the sixth and seventh innings, Yadov kept the Lions off the board the rest of the way to preserve the victory and complete the sweep over the conference's top team.
Up Next
The Hawks will wrap up the regular season with a trip to Bradford, Pa to take on the Pitt Bradford Panthers on Wednesday, April 30
th in a doubleheader beginning at 5 pm.