Ft. Pierce, FL – Hilbert College took a 5-1 lead into the top of the 8th inning against Bethany College (WV) and held onto win their first game of the season (8-5) to conclude the baseball team’s spring trip to south Florida.
The Hawks (1-5) rode the arm of junior Nick Sherman (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) for seven and a third innings where he struck out six batters with only one walk on his watch. Ryan Ilardi (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) had two hits and 4 RBIs but his biggest play came in the top of the 9th when he hit a 2-run single to build the cushion the Hawks needed for the win.
Senior Frank Simmeth (Cheektowaga, NY/St. Mary’s) pushed two runs across the plate although he never made it on base himself. Seven different guys had hits off the Bethany pitcher with the flurry of activity occurring in the fifth inning when the Hawks scored four unanswered runs. Ryan LaCorte (Cheektowaga, NY/JFK) scored three of the teams runs.
Hilbert travels north for their first game to be played in New York State on March 22 against the Rochester Institute of Technology which will be played at Webster Park (Webster), 3pm start.