Game 1 box score: Hillsdale 5, Tiffin 4
Game 2 box score: Tiffin 5, Hillsdale 1
After a 48-hour delay to the start of their series, the baseball teams from Hillsdale College and Tiffin University finally got started Monday afternoon in Ohio.
The Chargers won game one 5-4 and lost game two 5-1, splitting the first two of their four-game weekend set. The teams will play games three and four starting at 1:00 Tuesday at Tiffin.
A Michael Mitchell infield single scored Cody Kanclerz with the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning of the opener. Kanclerz was on base as a pinch runner for senior Steven Ring, who reached base via an error to lead off the final frame. Kanclerz got to second thanks to a walk by Colin Boerst, and reached third after a flyball out.
Ring opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning, making him the first player in Hillsdale College history to reach 40 career home runs. He was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a walk and 2 RBI in the victory. Christian Rodino had a double, going 2-for-5 with two runs batted in, while Boerst doubled, had two hits and reached base three times.
Junior Andrew Verbrugge turned in another good start on the mound, pitching 6.2 innings with three strikeouts. Sophomore James Krick finished with the win in relief, tossing two innings with a strikeout and one hit allowed.
In game two, the Chargers were limited to just one run and four hits by Tiffin pitching. The game was tied at 1 until the bottom of the sixth when the Dragons scored four times to take the lead.
Ring and Jake Hoover were each 1-for-3 and Hoover scored the team's only run of the nightcap.
PHOTO: Carly Gouge