The Hillsdale College baseball team hadn't even started conference play yet when the Covid-19 pandemic brought the 2020 season to a sudden end.
With all but four players back from last year's squad, the Chargers are hungry to get back on the field and hoping for a big season in 2021.
Their ranks will be bolstered by a sizable class of incoming players who look to add to Hillsdale's depth and help the team contend for a G-MAC title and an NCAA Division II tournament berth.
Hillsdale's ten-player Class of 2024 includes nine true freshmen: Zane Barnhart (Medina, OH/Highland); Kolin Endres (Traverse City, MI/St. Francis); Evan Fauquher (Yorktown, IN/Yorktown); Trey Haeger (New Hudson, MI/Detroit Catholic Central); Tyler Harris (Plymouth, MI/Detroit Catholic Central); Brendan Pochmara (Clinton Twp., MI/Warren De La Salle); Daly Skees (Georgetown, IN/Floyd Central); Joey Tedesco (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI/North) and Nate Waligora (Livonia, MI/Stevenson). The Chargers also are adding a Division I transfer from Eastern Michigan University, Lewis Beals (Mason, MI/Eaton Rapids), who has four years of eligibility as well.
Barnhart comes to Hillsdale after a standout career as a pitcher at Highland High School in Ohio, going 5-2 on the mound with a 1.70 ERA in his final high school season in 2019. While at Highland, Barnhart earned first team All-Conference and honorable mention All-District and All-Gazette honors, as well as being named his team's Pitcher of the Year. Barnhart played travel baseball with IVL, and also earned the Suburban League Scholar-Athlete Award multiple times.
Beals spent two seasons as an outfielder at EMU, redshirting his first year, and then seeing his second season with the Eagles cut dramatically short by Covid-19. That gave him a waiver that preserves his eligibility and still leaves him with four years to play. A highly-regarded recruit out of high school, Beals led Eaton Rapids to two MHSAA district titles, and finished his high school career with a .420 batting average, 16 home runs and 113 RBIs. He earned first team All-State honors as a senior and was All-CAAC four times, including first team All-Conference as a junior and a senior. Beals played travel baseball with the Capital City Baseball Kingdom, and made the Dean's List all four semesters at EMU before transferring.
Endres comes to Hillsdale after two varsity seasons as a pitcher at Northern Michigan powerhouse Traverse City St. Francis, reuniting with former Gladiator teammates Danny Passinault and Cooper Peterson, who both play for the Chargers. Endres posted an 18-2 record on the mound in high school with a 0.92 ERA and 0.97 WHIP, leading St. Francis to back-to-back MHSAA district titles in 2018 and 2019. He played travel baseball with A. Green, and was a scholar-athlete in three sports at St. Francis.
Fauquher arrives at Hillsdale after helping lead Yorktown High to the IHSAA Class 3A semi-state game for the first time in over a decade in 2019. A star shortstop for the Tigers, he helped lead Yorktown to back-to-back sectional and Delaware County titles in 2018 and 2019, earning a spot on the 2019 All-Delaware County and All-Hoosier Heritage Conference squads. Fauquher played travel baseball with the Indiana Prospects, and earned the Yorktown High Academic Award of Excellence.
Both Haeger and Harris continue a long pipeline of baseball talent from Detroit Catholic Central that has boosted Hillsdale rosters over the years, including current Chargers Cody Kanclerz and Joe Hardenbergh. As teammates, the duo helped the Shamrocks reach the MHSAA Division I regional final round in 2019, with Haeger finishing with a .312 batting average as a hard-hitting first baseman and Harris earning second team All-State honors, batting .359 and going 5-0 on the mound with a 1.4 ERA for DCC. Haeger played travel baseball with WOW Elite, and Harris played for the Motor City Chiefs and Detroit Metro Stars. Both were members of the National Honor Society at Catholic Central.
Pochmara saw a lot of his future teammates, Haeger and Harris, while playing at Catholic High School League member Warren De La Salle, a rival of Detroit Catholic Central. While there he helped extend the Pilots' MHSAA district title streak to five straight as a key player in 2019. A standout pitcher and outfielder, Pochmara played travel baseball for the East Michigan Muskies, where he finished with 34 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA on the mound in the summer of 2019. Pochmara graduated with honors from De La Salle.
Skees was a standout pitcher for three seasons at Floyd Central High School, playing in the largest classification in the state of Indiana. An exciting prospect in the state, Skees made the PBR 2020 Top 100 list of Indiana recruits, and also earned a spot in the IHSBCA 2019 Future Game. Skees played travel baseball with the Indiana Prospects, and was also a member of a two-time All-State Handbells Ensemble that traveled to New York City to take part in the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular while he was in high school.
Tedesco starred in two sports at Grosse Pointe North High School, helping to lead the baseball team to a MAC White Division title in 2019 and also standing out as a soccer player. A versatile athlete who played all over the field for the Norsemen, Tedesco played travel baseball with Little Ceasars, and also earned the GPN Scholar Athlete award multiple times during his time in high school.
Waligora is another exciting pitching prospect who stood out for his size and power at Livonia Stevenson High School, striking out 66 batters and posting an ERA of 1.79 as a junior in 2019, and adding a .347 batting average, three home runs and 34 RBIs at the plate. Waligora, who played travel baseball with the Michigan Bulls, earned All-District and All-KLAA honors for his performance as a junior. He's also an active member of the Boy Scouts of America, earning the rank of Eagle Scout during his time in high school.