The Hillsdale College baseball team came from behind to take game one of a doubleheader with Walsh on Friday, but had to settle for a split with the Cavaliers that brought the 2024 season to a close for the Chargers.
Hillsdale entered Friday knowing it likely needed both games to have a real shot of advancing to the G-MAC Tournament next week, and with an 11-6 loss in the nightcap, coupled with a Tiffin victory over Ashland elsewhere in Ohio, the Chargers were officially eliminated from contention.
The Chargers pulled out a 10-7 thriller in the first game of the day. Trailing 7-5 entering the final inning of the game, Hillsdale led off the inning with four straight hits, including RBI singles by Zak Kent, Will Shannon and Jaekob Sallee, to take an 8-7 lead, then got a two-run home run by freshman Will Millard to extend their advantage. The Cavaliers were unable to score against Hillsdale reliever Brandon Scott in the bottom of the seventh, and Hillsdale took a victory that kept hopes alive.
Hillsdale led 4-1 early thanks in part to a RBI double by Joe Hardenbergh in the top of the second inning, but a five-run fourth inning by Walsh saw the Chargers fall behind. Zak Kent got a solo home run in the top of the fifth to cut into the deficit and Hillsdale pulled out the game thanks to a clutch seventh inning.
Kent went 4 for 4 at the plate with a double and a home run to lead the Chargers, and Will Shannon chipped in two hits as well. Scott got the win in relief, pitching four strong innings with five strikeouts and just one earned run conceded in relief of starter Paul Brophy.
In the nightcap, the Chargers came out firing, seizing the lead with a run in the top of the first, but Walsh plated 10 combined runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to end Hillsdale's season. The Chargers made a late charge thanks to a solo home run by Jaekob Sallee and RBI singles by Danny Passinault and Rocco Tenuta, but it was not enough to overcome a big deficit in an 11-6 loss.
Passinault and Sallee each finished with two hits, with Passinault adding a double and Sallee the home run, to lead Hillsdale at the plate. Starter Drew Olssen took the loss, striking out four and walking three in three and a third innings of work, and Andrew George, Aaron Jasiak, Daly Skees and Brendan Pochmara all pitched as well for Hillsdale. Jasiak was especially effective in relief, giving up just one hit and striking out six batters in three and a third innings of work.
Hillsdale finishes the 2024 campaign at 21-28 overall, 15-17 in the G-MAC. The Chargers graduate 15 seniors, including much of their starting rotation and several of the most prolific hitters in the program's history, but will have a solid young foundation to build with next season, including one of the top hitters in the Midwest Region in Will Shannon and a quartet of rising sophomores in the infield who saw significant action and acquitted themselves well this season.
Photo by Steve George