HILBERT, N.Y. - La Roche softball traveled to take on Hilbert prior to Easter weekend and pulled out a sweep, as the offense exploded, behind the most runs scored in a doubleheader series since 2000.
The last time La Roche poured a number of runs in a doubleheader series to this level was against Lake Erie College in 2000, when they put 34 runs on the board. The 35 in this series could potentially be the most of all-time in a doubleheader series.
GAME ONE: LRU 17 Hilbert 13
The afternoon began with immediate dominance. La Roche didn't ease into the game—they erupted.
In the top of the first inning, the lineup turned relentless. Maura Wade sparked it with a double, setting the tone. Hits came in waves, but the defining moment was Brooke Murgenovich's bases-clearing triple, blowing the game wide open. By the time the inning ended, La Roche had stormed ahead 8–0, sending a message: this could be over early.
But this game refused to be simple.
Hilbert chipped back in the first and second innings, taking advantage of small mistakes. Even with La Roche adding four more runs in the second—helped by aggressive baserunning and defensive errors—the feeling in the dugout wasn't comfort. It was awareness. The score read 12–4, but the momentum felt fragile.
Then came the fourth inning—the turning point.
Hilbert surged.
Hit after hit, combined with defensive miscues, flipped the energy entirely. What had been a comfortable lead shrank inning by inning, run by run. The once-commanding 12–4 advantage suddenly became 12–11. The dugout tightened. The noise from the other side grew louder.
For La Roche, this was the moment that defined the game—not the scoring bursts, but the response.
Instead of unraveling, they reset.
In the fifth inning, Taylor Young delivered—reaching, advancing, and scoring amid more defensive pressure. Ashlee Bair followed, and just like that, a bit of breathing room returned. It wasn't flashy—it was necessary. The lead stretched to 14–11.
From there, La Roche began to reassert control.
In the sixth, Cassidee Fitterer drove in another run, and Young added one more RBI. Insurance runs, but more importantly, momentum reclaiming runs. The dugout energy returned—not celebratory, but steady.
By the seventh, La Roche added one final run, capitalizing on a wild pitch. It felt symbolic: pressure applied until something broke.
Hilbert made one last push in the bottom half, scoring twice. But this time, La Roche didn't bend far enough to break.
GAME TWO: LRU 18 Hilbert 9
La Roche struck first in the opening inning when Maura Wade drove in Brooke Murgenovich with a single. But Hilbert answered immediately, tying the game at 1–1. It was clear this wouldn't be another easy runaway.
By the third inning, La Roche began to apply pressure. Finley Hohn delivered a clutch double, driving in two runs to give La Roche a 3–1 edge. Still, Hilbert refused to fade. A mix of contact hitting and defensive miscues helped them claw back again, tying the game 3–3.
La Roche edged back ahead in the fourth. Wade came through again—another RBI, another moment of control. At 4–3, it felt like La Roche was settling in.
Then everything flipped in the fifth.
Hilbert capitalized on errors and timely hitting, highlighted by a three-run double that suddenly pushed them in front 7–4. For the first time all game, La Roche was trailing—and the pressure was real. The dugout wasn't panicked, but it was quiet. Focused.
What came next defined the game.
The sixth inning wasn't just a rally—it was an avalanche.
It started small. A run here. A baserunner there. Then the hits began to stack.
Ashley Huffman drove in a run.
A wild pitch brought another home.
Cassidee Fitterer tied the game.
Taylor Young gave La Roche the lead.
And they didn't stop.
Samantha Dixon ripped an RBI single. Then the biggest swing of the inning came from Iyarah Hicks, who launched a triple into the outfield, clearing the bases and blowing the game open.
Seven runs later, La Roche had completely flipped the scoreboard—from down 7–4 to up 11–7.
The dugout erupted. Momentum had fully shifted.
Hilbert tried to answer in the bottom half, scoring twice to close the gap to 11–9, but this time La Roche didn't let the door reopen.
Instead, they slammed it shut in the seventh.
What followed was another offensive explosion—seven more runs, fueled by patience at the plate and relentless pressure. Dixon added another RBI. Hicks drew a bases-loaded walk. Errors piled up for Hilbert as La Roche kept advancing runners.
And fittingly, it was Maura Wade—the engine all game—who delivered the final blow: a two-run double that stretched the lead to 18–9.
From there, it was about finishing.
Wade stepped into the circle to close things out, shutting Hilbert down over the final two innings and securing the win.