Game 1 box score: Hillsdale 12, Davis & Elkins 4
Game 2 box score: Hillsdale 5, Davis & Elkins 2
The Hillsdale College baseball team finished off a four-game road sweep of a future conference opponent Monday afternoon.
The Chargers got more good pitching and some clutch late-inning hitting in sweeping Davis & Elkins 12-4 and 5-2 in Glenville, West Virginia. The wins improve Hillsdale's record to 7-8 on the season. The Chargers and Senators will each exist together in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference starting next season.
In Monday's first game, Hillsdale got out to a 5-0 lead, saw the Senators battle back to make it 5-4, then put the game away with some offensive fireworks in the sixth and seventh innings. The Chargers scored two and five runs in those innings, respectively, Hillsdale outhit Davis & Elkins 16-6 in the win, setting a season-high for hits in a game.
Holding a 5-4 lead, junior Alex Walts hit a two-run single up the middle with two outs in the sixth to give Hillsdale some crucial insurance runs. Run-scorers Colin Boerst and Colin Hites reached base without needing a base hit.
Boerst came up in the seventh and blasted a three-run home run that scored Michael Mitchell and Christian Rodino, putting the game out of reach. Ethan Wiskur added a run-scoring double later in the inning to close out the scoring.
Eight of nine starters in the lineup had a hit in the game one win. Wiskur tied a single-game career high by going 5-for-5 in the game, with two doubles. It was Wiskur's second career five-hit game, but his first in a non extra-inning affair.
Boerst was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and three runs scored, and Walts was 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and two runs scored. Mitchell and Chris Ackerman also had multi-hit games, and Steven Ring drove in two.
Junior Phil Carey picked up the win in an excellent relief appearance. He struck out two and allowed just one hit in three innings of work.
Game two featured solid pitching by both teams. The Chargers led 3-2 entering the top of the seventh, when once again, different players stepped up with important plays in a close game.
Freshman Jake Rhodes got the two-out rally going with a single, with Ring advancing to third. Mitchell brought Ring home with a single to left, and an error by Davis & Elkins allowed Rhodes to score the team's fifth run of the game.
Freshman pitcher Andrew Verbrugge went the distance in picking up his first collegiate victory. He permitted just one earned run, didn't walk anybody, and struck out three in seven innings of work.
Wiskur capped his incredible day by going 2-for-3 with a run batted in. Boerst was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Mitchell added another two-hit game to the Hillsdale offense.