A chilly, but big crowd cheered on the Hillsdale College baseball team to a win in its 2015 home opener Wednesday afternoon.
Thanks to some grouped, timely hitting and solid performances from a number of pitchers, Hillsdale won its first game at Simpson Field this season, 8-2 over visiting Albion College in a non-league contest. Hillsdale is now 6-14 overall and will host Wayne State University for a four-game GLIAC series this weekend.
After falling behind 2-0, Hillsdale put together big back-to-back innings in the third and fourth, scoring seven of its eight runs in those frames. Connor Bartlett (pictured) and Chris McDonald each hit home runs in the third inning to pull the Chargers out front, 3-2. Bartlett's shot was a two-run line drive over the right field fence, while McDonald sent a rainbow nearly to dead center.
The Chargers tacked on four more runs in the fourth inning. Bartlett picked up his third RBI of the game in the inning, while Tad Sobieszczanski added a run-scoring single. Nolan Breymaier got the inning started with a well-hit double to left-center field.
Bartlett was 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI, while infielder Sean Bennett went 2-for-4.
Evan Chalker picked up the win on the mound, one of eight pitchers to toe the rubber for Hillsdale. Seniors Dan Pochmara and P.J. Cooley each pitched perfect innings for the team.