Hilbert College

PITTSBURGH, PA – Mother Nature has not been kind to the Hilbert softball program with the multiple rainouts/postponed/rescheduled or cancelled games since the team returned to Hamburg from their spring trip to Myrtle Beach in mid-March. April 9 should have been a home Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) game for Hilbert, but due to poor field condition at home, the Hawks went on the road to get a game in. Junior Jill Martucci (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) went 4 for 7 and scored 2 runs for the Hawks, but La Roche (11-11, 6-0) used the home field advantage to grab two conference wins, 9-0 and 10-2.

In the early game, the Hawks couldn’t get a good piece of the ball off Kara Jo Elesky, La Roche’s pitching ace. On average, four batters per inning had their swipe at her yet none of them stuck on base for very long. Hilbert’s Halsey Baker (Scio, NY/Scio) connected in the bottom of the 4^th inning, but didn’t move home for a score. The RedHawks put a few runs on the board each inning building to a 9-0 victory after Hilbert’s last at bats in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore Emily Ripley (Batavia, NY/Notre Dame) took the loss on the mound.

The Hawks found more success in the second game of the afternoon, until La Roche went on a 4^th inning five-run tear putting the home team up 9-2. After the fifth inning was complete, and La Roche held an 8-run lead, the game was called based on run differential. Ripley and Baker earned the games RBI’s sending Martucci home for both runs.  La Roche’s Kelsey Deem hit a double and two home runs knocking in four runs herself for the 10-2 victory.

Hilbert (1-10, 0-2) turns around and losses a second home-scheduled conference game when they travel to Penn State Behrend (6-9, 3-3) on Monday, April 11 for a 3pm double header.