SATURDAY RECAP
Game 1 box score – Hillsdale 6, Ohio Dominican 4 (8 inn.)
Game 2 box score – Ohio Dominican 11, Hillsdale 5
Before the start of this season, Hillsdale College head baseball coach Eric Theisen planned to move senior pitcher Chris McDonald from a starting role to the bullpen.
Consider the move successful.
Just 16 games into the season, McDonald has already set the school's single-season record for saves, recording his eighth in the Chargers' 6-4 8-inning win over Ohio Dominican Saturday afternoon in Columbus.
The Panthers rebounded to win game 2 11-5. The teams will play game 3 of their three-game weekend series Sunday.
Although these games match the teams with the GLIAC's two best records, these will go down as non-conference contests. The league year officially begins next weekend for both clubs.
McDonald was set up for his record-setting save thanks to some offensive fireworks in extra innings for the Chargers in the opener.
After a Tad Sobieszczanski (pictured) single, senior Connor Bartlett launched a two-run home run to left-center field, snapping a 3-3 tie. One batter later, freshman Steven Ring lined a solo shot to right to give the Chargers a 6-3 lead. ODU pushed across an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth, but McDonald was able to knock down a sharply hit ground ball, with runners on second and third, to end the ODU threat.
Senior Mitchell Gatt got the win in relief, picking up a quality start by senior Jacob Gardner. Seniors Luke Ortel and Michael O'Sullivan each went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the win. Sobieszczanski also delivered a pair of hits.
In game 2, McDonald got the Chargers off to a good start with a solo home run in the top of the first inning to give Hillsdale a 1-0 lead. But Ohio Dominican struck back, led by all-conference hitter Lee Sponseller, who hit for the cycle. The Panthers scored four times in the first and twice each in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
Bartlett led the offense in game 2 by going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while O'Sullivan had his second straight two-hit performance. Freshman Colin Boerst added a run batted in for the Chargers.