Game 1 box score: Hillsdale 7, Paine 5
Game 2 box score: Paine 13, Hillsdale 10 (5inn.)
Game 3 box score: Hillsdale 9, Paine 8
There were plenty of fireworks and dramatics in the opening weekend of 2016 for the Hillsdale College baseball team.
The Chargers traveled to Augusta, Georgia to face Paine College in a three-game series that saw lots of offense and comebacks. Hillsdale went 2-1 in the series, winning the opener Saturday 7-5 and Sunday's finale 9-8. Inbetween, the Chargers lost a 13-10 decision Saturday, a game called after 5 innings due to darkness.
In Saturday's opener, junior Ethan Wiskur blasted a three-run home run, and leadoff hitter Luke Ortel went 3-for-5 with a run scored to lead the offense. The Chargers put up three runs in the first, one in the second and three more in the third to take a big early lead.
Seniors Connor Bartlett and Joe Gentile each contributed two hits in the win. Senior Jacob Gardner got the win on the mound, going 4 innings with 2 strikeouts. Senior Mitchell Gatt fanned two in a key relief inning for Hillsdale.
Game two Saturday was a wild affair, with Hillsdale taking a 7-2 lead before allowing seven runs in the bottom of the fourth and four more in the fifth.
Senior Chris McDonald was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI, and freshman Steven Ring hit a grand slam home run on the very first pitch he saw as a college player. Ring roped two more singles as part of a smashing Charger debut.
In Sunday's game, the Chargers trailed 7-0 after three innings, but mounted an inspirational comeback, capped by a ninth-inning solo home run by Ortel, his first of the season.
McDonald, Wiskur and Tad Sobieszczanski each had a pair of hits, while Bartlett was on a tear, going 3-for-5, as Hillsdale outhit Paine 15-11 in the game.
Wiskur picked up the win in relief and McDonald pitched a perfect ninth inning for his second save of the weekend.