Game 1 box score: Hillsdale 9, Northwood 3
Game 2 box score: Hillsdale 4, Northwood 3
The Charger baseball team had to wait a good while to play its home opener.
The wait was worth it.
A terrific season hit another level on a cold but sunny Tuesday afternoon at Simpson Field, as Hillsdale swept both ends of a GLIAC doubleheader from Northwood University, 9-3 and 4-3, to improve to 19-9 overall and 7-3 in the GLIAC. Hillsdale is now on a five-game winning streak.
The Chargers hit four home runs as a team between the two games, and won the nightcap in dramatic fashion.
Senior Luke Ortel (pictured) added to simply an extraordinary season by ripping a double down the right field line, scoring Jacob Hoover in walk-off fashion. He delivered his big hit with two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 3-3 ballgame.
Combined in the two games, Ortel went 5-for-7 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored, to go along with a home run and two doubles, increasing his batting average to .432 for the season. He's already banged out 54 hits in just 28 games, putting him just three away from the school's single-season top 10 list in total hits.
Hillsdale's ninth inning rally was started by big contributions from players off the bench. Hoover sliced a one-out single to left and fellow freshman Chris Ackerman blooped a single that created the scoring threat. Although freshman Cam Maxwell struck out in the next at bat, he avoided grounding into what could have been an inning-ending double play, allowing Ortel to get back to the plate to win the game for the Chargers.
Senior Chris McDonald recorded his first pitching win of the season in relief. Senior Mitchell Gatt contributed a key inning in relief, tossing a 12-pitch, two-strikeout gem in the top of the eighth to keep the game tied.
McDonald's two-run home run in the bottom of the third also tied him for Hillsdale's career record for runs batted in with 99. One more, and he'll own the record outright.
Senior Connor Bartlett launched a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning to get Hillsdale on the board.
In the opener, Hillsdale jumped out to a 3-0 lead in its first home half of an inning of the season. Junior Ethan Wiskur scooted a single up the middle to score Ortel, and two batters later, sophomore Alex Walts hit a long double that brought Wiskur and McDonald home.
Hillsdale then struck for six runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach. Michael O'Sullivan opened the frame with a double, and scored on Ortel's fourth home run of the season. Wiskur followed with a monster blast over the left field wall making the lead 8-0. Bartlett later scored the final run of the game thanks to some smart and aggressive baserunning.
Sophomore Will Kruse picked up his team-leading fifth win of the season, tossing six shutout innings with just three hits allowed. He walked just one and struck out three in the victory.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale hosts the University of Findlay starting at 1:00 Wednesday.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kadie Lowery