The best season in Hillsdale College baseball history came to an end at the second day of NCAA Division II Regionals Friday afternoon.
The Chargers fell to the University of Indianapolis – the GLVC Tournament champions – by a score of 4-1 in Quincy, Illinois, bringing their season to an end with a 32-24 record.
The Greyhounds; Matthew Kaplanis pitched a brilliant game against the deadly Hillsdale offense, limiting the Chargers to just one run and five hits, no walks and two strikeouts in eight innings of work.
Hillsdale's lone run came in the bottom of the second inning, when sophomore Alex Walts singled in junior Ethan Wiskur to cut an early UIndy lead to 2-1. The Greyhounds scored twice in the top of the first to grab an early lead. Wiskur's 16th double and 82nd hit of the season set up Hillsdale's run.
But Walts' RBI single would be the last run-scoring offense generated by the Chargers in this game, as Kaplanis effectively mixed up his pitches and was able to convert hard-hit balls into outs throughout his outing.
Hillsdale's five hits were scattered among five different players. Senior Luke Ortel led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle. He finished his brilliant 2016 campaign with a .463 batting average and 112 total hits, both easily school records. He finished just eight hits shy of the single-season NCAA Division II record for hits.
Seniors Connor Bartlett and Michael O'Sullivan each picked up one hit in their final collegiate games. Wiskur was 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Sophomore Will Kruse took the loss for the Chargers, limiting UIndy to just three runs in 6.1 innings pitched. Seniors Lucas Hamelink and Mitchell Gatt combined to go 2.2 innings in their final games.
The pitchers in this game combined for zero walks issued in the game. The Greyhounds outhit the Chargers 10-5 in the contest. Hillsdale had the misfortune of having to face the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds at the regional tournament, and both of its opponents had won their respective conference tournaments. A tall order for any team to face.
PHOTO CREDIT: Brad Monastiere