The Hilbert Hawks Women’s Basketball team traveled to the 4th seeded Penn State Altoona Lions for the first round of the AMCC playoffs and came up with an upset by a score of 54-40.  

The Hawks dominated the game from the tip, scoring within the first 16 seconds of the game. They led by as much as 19 points in the 3rd quarter and Mackenzie Catan threw in seven three-point shots and finished with a game high 21 points.  

The total team defensive effort allowed the Hawks to grow and maintain the lead throughout the entirety of the game. “Although our offense was great our defense won us the game” says Champagne. 

 Other key contributors were Ashley Schroeder with 13 points and 5 assists, Chloe Champagne added another 5 assists, Alesia Hamm contributed 10 points and Monika Allen finished with 8 points and 10 rebounds in just 11 minutes.  

The Hawks led in nearly every statistical category, they shot a better percentage from field goal and beyond the arc. They also out rebounded the Lions by 12 and gathered 5 steals which led to more 2^nd chance and fastbreak points. “We applied pressure the whole game… they were crying” Champagne adds. 

The men’s basketball team played its first playoff game of the year and had a lot of considence going into its third matchup with Pitt-Bradford.

The Hilbert hawks Played them first this year on January 25^th in a close game that ended with a Shaheem Ellis buzzer beating pull up in the lane with the end score of 90-89. The second game was played on February, 15^th and was another game ended with a last second shot this time a layup by Eric Jackson, the score of this game was 82-81.

These two games show that this can be anyone’s game The popular opinion around campus is that Hilbert should be able to take this game, and the fans would be happy with nothing less. 

Hilbert’s starting center Edward Perez said he was excited about playing Pitt-Bradford again.

“They are a good team so it should be a good game to watch, and it doesn’t matter if we won twice already you never know what’s going to happen in college basketball,” Perez said.  “None the less I’m confidant in our team, and in our chances to win this game.”

Freshman Daylon Gonzalez said he had faith that his team mates were up to the task.

“While I’m not often put into the game, watching how the last two games went, I believe we should take the win,” Gonzalez said. “If we all come together and play how we are supposed to, I think we can be unstoppable.”

The Hilbert College Baseball team opened their 2023 season with a double-header contest hosted by Chatham University Cougars just outside of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, dropping game one, 5-4, in a 12-inning thriller, and game two, 10-9.

Sophomore pitcher, Blaine Morgan, described the day as “an eventful day that was productive for the team because we were able to get our day one kinks out”. He followed that with saying “I am very excited to see where our team goes this season because we have a lot going for us and a high ceiling”.

The Hawks offense came out of the gate hot, with leadoff man Thomas Evans hitting a solo home run in the top of the first inning. Before the Chatham defense could get the first three outs, Patrick Whelan tripled and Jack Duffek drove in Whelan with a sacrifice fly ball to give Hilbert a 2-0 lead, early in the game.

The game would quiet down for the offense while Chatham was able to plate three runs to take the lead until a Derek Martinez single and a Alex Ellison sacrifice fly would score two runs to give the Hawks a 4-3 lead, going into the 7^th inning. Chatham was able to squeeze the tying run across the plate in the final inning, which launched the game into extra innings.

Hilbert would not score a run for the remainder of the game while pitcher, Blaine Morgan would do his best to keep the Chatham bats silent. He was able to throw 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball until Chatham was able to win the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 12^th inning.

The 12-inning opening matchup was ranked the third most exciting game of the week by 6-4-3 Charts, a data reporting service for college sports.

Game two started off in similar fashion, with the Hawks offense striking early. Hilbert was able to push across three runs in the top of the first, coming from a leadoff triple from John Riviere, who was batted in by a Thomas Evan triple. Evans scored off of a Whelan sac fly to make it 2-0 and Derek Martinez scored on a Manny McClain single, making it 3-0.

The Chatham Cougars would later plate a single run in the second inning and third inning making it a score of 3-2 before the Hawks would push across two more runs in the top of the fourth.

With the score at 5-2 going into the bottom of the 5^th, the Cougars would find their big inning, scoring a hefty 5 runs, giving them a 7-5 lead. This came off of timely hits with runners in scoring position, from their high-producing, middle of the order hitters.

The hawks did not lose focus after the big inning because they immediately tied the game in the top of the 6^th with another Evans homerun and Ben Ratajczak reaching on an error that scored Frank McCabe. The  Cougars would respond with three more runs in the bottom of the 6^th, making it 10-7. The hawks would rally in the top of the 7^th, pushing across two more runs, making it 10-9 but did not have enough to tie the game or take the lead.

When asked about his overall experience, senior Pitcher Zack Panfil said that the cold Pittsburg weather did not hinder the Hawks and it was a productive day, overall.

“Even though it was cold, we still wanted to go out and compete,” Panfil said. “The outcome was unfortunate but we learned what we need to work on and we know what we need to do next weekend in Philly.”

After the opening day sweep, the Hawks Baseball team looks to even out their record as they head to Philadelphia, PA to play the University of Valley Forge on Sunday, February 25^th. The team was set to play Rosemont college on Saturday but due to cold weather conditions, the Saturday games were canceled.

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In the last few years the Hilbert College Men’s Soccer team has struggled to get things going

But, that has started to change this season as the team that has not won  since that 2016 season, has started to win. With a record of 3-5-2, the Soccer team is having its best season in 6 years. .

Newly hired head coach Jonny Black has started his first season with the team and has started to initiate a turnaround in the program. [SJ2] Black was hired in late June of this year and immediately got to work trying to fix a broken program.

 “The atmosphere has definitely changed from what I saw in the last few seasons, and this team now looks different than in the past,.” Black said.

Black also said that paraphrase something he said here…

“The new freshmen have brought a new sense of urgency into the program and combined with the returners has led to better results,” he said.

With the next game happening on Saturday the 8^th of October against Penn State Altoona, the team is hoping to get their fourth win of the season and first in conference play.

The future for the team looks bright and Coach Black is hoping that future leads to enormous success.

For Hilbert college men’s basketball coach Rob deGrandpre the annual Hilbert College basketball game is one of his favorite days on the calendar.

”This is the twelfth edition of the game and this alumni game dates back  to the fall of 2010,” he said.

Before coming to Hilbert, coach said “that the game would happen every fall at his previous school he coached at.”

“A big key is to get your alumni back” and to “have current players know who they are,” he added.

He said it is very important for alumni to come back because they are a big part of the college, and they are part of the history.

DeGrandpre said when he took over the program in 2002 the program was “gutted” and how it was an “uphill battle.”

He also talks about those alumni basketball players who were with them in two-thousand-two and  coach says he has a lot of “admiration for them” and, “they wanted to build their own legacy.” The coach also says that is very important to him to have alumni come and speak to the current team. Coach adds that he gives those alumni who speak to the team “a big drumroll introduction and says that he lists those players accomplishments.”  He talks also

“Former players talking to current players and  always help in the growth and maturation. Freshman players hear from former alumni who were here, five, ten, fifteen years ago and to show  18-year old players  how successful an alumni is in life  now and how  basketball plays a big role in that.

DeGrandpre says that he has former alumni being all-conference players going into the Hilbert College athletics hall of fame. He talks about how college athletics, not just basketball but in general for student-athlete is hard work and how it is an occupation.

“In those four years of playing and learning life lessons that you can carry into your thirties, forties and fifties until you retire,” deGrandpre said. He said he has had lots of former players “hang up their sneakers and grab a whistle” and now they are part of the coaching staff.

Currently he has two former players on his staff including Cody Troutman who played for deGrandpre and graduated in 2012.

He also has Jack Gaylord who played at Hilbert in 1979.

“Alumni would trudge through the snow and go to Immaculata Academy and practice all hours through the night and then walk back to Saint Joes dorm and do it all again the next day. This was before the Hafner recreation center was built and Coach says that he “enjoys the relationship that he has built with the alumni in the twenty-years he been coaching.”

CHILI, N.Y. – The Hilbert Men’s Cross Country team also competed against their largest field of competitors this morning when they raced at the 33rd Annual Harry F. Anderson Invite hosted by and on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan University.

The Hawks finished with 425 points, in a two-way tie with Keuka for 13th place but fell to 14th based on head-to-head finishes between the two teams.  Today was just the second time in program history where the men’s team, racing in a 10+ team competition at the Anderson race, broke 500 points.

The Geneseo men’s team easily claimed the team title after placing their top scorers in the first eight slots.  But it was Ryan Cory from Cortland who out distanced the Knights for a first place finish.  His 24:50.9 time was 21-seconds quicker than Geneseo’s Alex Hilyard.

Geneseo had a big cushion in points (24) over Cortland who took second with 13 better than the hosts, Roberts Wesleyan who combined for 110 points.

TEAM RESULTS:
1. Geneseo, 24 points
2. Cortland, 97 points
3. Roberts Wesleyan, 110 points
4. St. Bonaventure, 111 points
5. Fredonia, 125 points
6. Gannon, 149 points
7. SUNY-ESF 175 points
8. Mercyhurst, 189 points
9. Le Moyne, 277 points
10. Alfred State, 290 points
11. Corning CC, 352 points,
12. Finger Lakes CC, 358 points
13. Keuka, 425 points
14. Hilbert, 425 points
15. Bryant & Stratton (Bflo), 453 points


Hilbert College 8K results:
31:25.8 #74, Kenneth Trometer
32:02.4 #77, Matthew Domagala
36:10.1 #86, Josh Kidder
38:00.6 #90, Jonathan Heck
45:54.2 #98, J Bowman
47:38.6 #99, N Letizia
47:43.5 #100, J Ortman

The Hawks have two weeks to train and prepare for their next meet.  Hilbert College will host the 14th Annual Meghan Memorial Race October 8th on the 5K course on campus.  Follow this (LINK) for more information on the annual race honoring a former teammate and friend to the program.

– Kara Rehbaum

Editor’s Note: This story was written by the Hilbert Athletics staff and shared with The Scribe

BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Hilbert Hawks football team traveled to SUNY-Brockport for a mid-season exhibition against the Golden Eagles JV team on Monday. The Hawks took care of business and headed back to Hamburg 14-7 victors!

How it Happened:

1^st Half – Much like the matchup last week against Curry College, the Hawks and Golden Eagles played a first quarter game of field position with neither team scoring any points. Six seconds into the second quarter Brockport quarterback Evan Gordon connected with Mitchell Mackissock for a 22-yard touchdown pass. That would be the last time Brockport would score on their home turf for the day. It was also the only points of the first half.

2^nd Half – With Nicholas Rinker at the helm, the new look Hawks offense started clicking right away after returning from the halftime break. Andre Augustiniak hauled in a 54-yard touchdown reception from Rinker early in the 3^rd quarter and followed it up with a 1-yard rushing touchdown two minutes later. The Hawks defense, led by Ben Kirkland and Taivaughn Roach, had 69 tackles on the day including 6 tackles for a loss. The Hawks defense also had 4 interceptions including one late in the game that sealed the victory.

Final Score – Hilbert 14 – Brockport 7

What’s Next – Hilbert College hosts NCAA DII independent Lincoln University from Oakland, California, for their final home game of the season on October 14^th at 7PM at Saint Francis High School in Hamburg, New York.

– Cole Klubek

Editor’s Note: This story was written by the Hilbert Athletics staff and shared with The Scribe

ELMA, N.Y.  – The Hilbert Women’s Soccer team hosted  Elmira College this afternoon at the Sahlen’s Sports Park due to playing conditions back on campus.

The Hawks stayed with the Soaring Eagles the first 45-minutes but lost their momentum in the second half and fell in a 4-nill non-conference contest.

THE BASICS

• Final Score:  Elmira 4  |  Hilbert 0
• Location:  Flash Field  | Sahlen’s Sports Park
• Records:   Hilbert 3-3-2  I  Elmira 4-5

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• Due to the rain earlier in the week, Hilbert moved the game to a neutral site in order to get the non-conference contest in the books. 
• The light rain stopped by the time the women’s game started at 3:30 pm so the turf was wet but still fast.
• Elmira took a one-goal lead in the 9th minute after carrying the ball down the left sideline and finished with a centering pass to the box that landed in the back of the net.
• Macy Kisner had a terrific opportunity in the first half, sprinting with and then past an Elmira defender which left her alone in a 1 v  1 with the keeper who was credited with a save in the 24th minute.
• The Soaring Eagles scored back-to-back goals from up top off hard shots that sailed over the Hilbert keeper, and they repeated that same feat six minutes later from the same spot on the turf for the win.

GAME NOTES

• Hilbert closed the game with 11 shots and four corners while Elmira led with 21 and 7, respectively.
• Hailey Kuder was credited with seven saves in 69:32 minutes before Tahlia Kosek traded in her field jersey to finish the game in net with one save.
• Grace Zabawa led the charge with three shots and Kisner, Hannah Brock and Gabrielle Avallone added two each.

UP NEXT

Hilbert opens the AMCC portion of their schedule this weekend when they travel to Pitt-Greensburg Saturday, October 1st.

– Kara Rehbaum

Editor’s Note: This story was written by the Hilbert Athletics staff and shared with The Scribe

ELMA, N.Y.  – The Hilbert Men’s Soccer team took on Elmira College today and lost by a score of 4-0. It was a hard fought game from start to finish playing on the turf at Sahlen’s Sports Park.

THE BASICS

• Final Score:  Elmira 4  |  Hilbert 0
• Location:  Flash Field  | Sahlen’s Sports Park
• Records:   Hilbert 3-4-2  I  Elmira 6-2-1

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• Due to the rain earlier in the week, Hilbert moved the game to a neutral site in order to get the non-conference contest in the books. 
• The turf was wet but fast and so was the speed of the game.  Both team passed the ball well, but Elmira built a 2-goal lead by intermission.
• The Soaring Eagles connected in the 8th and 12th minute as the Hawks’ defense elevated their efforts to the break.
• Hilbert played even with Elmira, but a trip in the box led to a PK goal in the 71st minute and distracted the Hawks for a minute.  Elmira padded their lead 100-seconds later and took the shutout victory.

GAME NOTES

• Hilbert stayed with Elmira in the first half, credited with four shots to the Soaring Eagles eight.
• The Hawks were outshot throughout the contest which led to them having a deficit in corner kicks and scoring opportunities.
• Logan Peck made six saves but faced multiple 1 v 1 looks in the second half.
• Carter Burke and Beckham Blair each took two shots today.

UP NEXT

Hilbert opens the AMCC portion of their schedule this weekend when they travel to Pitt-Greensburg Saturday, October 1st.

– Justin Evoy

Editor’s Note: This story was written by the Hilbert Athletics staff and shared with The Scribe