Elmira Records Seven Extra-Base Hits in Split with Hilbert
Elmira, NY -- The bats of
Hayden Rothenberg '17 and
Dylan Bellinger '17 led the Elmira College baseball team to a non-conference split with Hilbert College. EC has now won three of their last four games while averaging over nine runs per game.
Rothenberg went a combined 4-for-7 in the leadoff spot with two triples, three runs scored, and one RBI. Bellinger was a combined 3-for-6 with at least one hit in both games. All three of his hits went for extra bases as he too had two triples and also a double while driving in three runs.
Rothenberg and Bellinger were not the only two Elmira players who swung a strong bat as
Mike Burghardt '18,
Conor Bawiec '18,
Bryce Plante '18, and
Jordan Marquez '18 each recorded multi-hit efforts. Burghardt was 3-for-7 in the two games and hit his first career home run in the first inning of game one. Bawiec was also 3-for-7 with two runs scored and two RBI. Plante was 4-for-6, including 3-for-3 in game two, with three runs scored and two RBI. Finally, Marquez only played in game two and went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, and one RBI.
Game One: Hilbert 7, Elmira 4
Hilbert struck in the first inning, using a two-out rally to push across the game's first run. EC, however, answered in the bottom half of the inning with two runs, courtesy of Burghardt's shot over the right field fence, to take a 2-1 lead. That lead was extended to 4-1 in the next inning as the Soaring Eagles capitalized on an error by the Hawks' pitcher to score both Plante and
Harrison Leslie '18.
An Elmira error in the top of the third helped Hilbert make it a 4-3 game as the Hawks scored two unearned runs. Back-to-back walks to lead off the bottom of the third inning gave EC a golden opportunity to pad their lead, but Bawiec grounded into a double-play, just about ending the scoring opportunity. That would prove to be costly as the Hawks would score another pair of runs on
Dennis Rudolph '18 in the top of the fourth to regain the lead, 5-4.
The Soaring Eagles stranded runners on second and third in the bottom of the fourth and another double-play in the bottom of the sixth halted another chance at a rally, as they entered the seventh inning still trailing 5-4. Hilbert would add two insurance runs in the top of the seventh to make it 7-4, which is how game one would end.
Game Two: Elmira 14, Hilbert 4
Hilbert jumped on Elmira starter
Nate Hanner '18, using three hits to plate four runs in the first inning. The Purple and Gold came right back in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game up at four. Rothenberg led off game two with a triple to deep right field. That started a run of five straight Elmira players recording a hit, including the first of Bellinger's two triples.
The Soaring Eagles put another crooked number on the board in the second inning as they extended their lead to 9-4 with a five-run frame. The Hawks committed two errors in the inning, which led to four of the runs being unearned, but the Purple and Gold also had five hits in the inning to help facilitate the offensive production.
The third inning was another offensive display as Elmira plated four more runs to set the new program mark for runs in a game at 13. Rothenberg led off the inning with his second triple, but back-to-back outs made it look like EC was going to strand him at third base. That changed, however, when Bellinger tripled to deep right field, starting a two-out rally that led to four runs. After Bellinger tripled, Plante singled him home and Marquez also tripled in Plante, while later scoring on a passed ball, for all four runs. EC's final run came in the fourth inning when Bawiec singled home
Matt van Muelken'18 with a shot up the middle.
Mike Ladka '16 came on in relief of Hanner at the start of the third and had all of his pitches working as he was allowing few baserunners in his three innings of work. The Hawks' best opportunity to score on Ladka came in the fifth inning when a walk and a pair of wild pitches put a Hilbert player on third base, but Ladka induced to groundouts to end the threat.
EC put both Rothenberg and Bawiec on the mound to finish the final two innings. Rothenberg allowed one hit in a scoreless sixth inning while Bawiec retired the side in order and struck out the final two batters to end the game and seal EC's 14-4 victory.
The Soaring Eagles have a day off before welcoming Baptist Bible College for another non-conference doubleheader. The first of the two games against the Defenders is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.