Game 1 box score: LEC 10, HC 8
Game 4 box score: LEC 16, HC 10
The Hillsdale College baseball team lost the first two games of its regular season-ending four game series at Lake Erie College Saturday afternoon.
A three-run, seventh-inning rally wasn't quite enough for the Chargers in a 10-8 loss in game 1. The Storm forced the Chargers to strand 15 runners on base in the 5-3 LEC win in game 2.
The two teams wrap up their respective seasons at noon Sunday in Painesville, Ohio.
In the opener, Lake Erie jumped all over Hillsdale early, scoring five times in the first inning, then scoring twice more in the second and third innings to build an early 9-0 lead. Hillsdale actually outhit Lake Erie 9-8 in the game. Freshman Alex Walts hit his second home run of the season, and was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.
In game 2, the Chargers again outhit the Storm, this time 12-7, but were frustrated by stranding 15 runners on base in the nine-inning 5-3 loss. Luke Ortel hit a home run as part of a 3-for-5 game in the nightcap. Connor Bartlett also banged out 3 hits in the second game for Hillsdale. Freshman pitcher Will Kruse battled through 7 innings on the mound with five strikeouts.
In both of Sunday's games, the Chargers faced a big deficit after one full inning.
Lake Erie held a 5-1 lead after the first inning of Sunday's opener, and held on for a 9-5 win. Ortel and Eric Shankin each hit home runs in the loss for the Chargers, while Michael O'Sullivan had two hits.
Game 2 was a wild back-and-forth affair. The Storm led 3-0 after one inning, but the Chargers came back to eventually take a 7-4 lead after a four-run fourth inning. Nolan Breymaier got the fireworks started with a solo home run in the inning.
But Lake Erie struck back with a combined nine runs in the fifth and sixth inning to break the game open.
Chris McDonald was 3-for-3 with 2 runs scored in the season finale, while Shankin, Breymaier and Ortel each had two hits. Hillsdale finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 17-32 and 11-21 in the GLIAC.