Hillsdale College (6-6, 2-2 G-MAC) at Ohio Valley (1-8, 0-4 G-MAC) | 12 p.m. Saturday, March 20 | City Park – Parkersburg, WV | Video | Live Stats
Hillsdale College (6-6, 2-2 G-MAC) at Ohio Valley (1-8, 0-4 G-MAC) | 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 20 | City Park – Parkersburg, WV | Video | Live Stats
Hillsdale College (6-6, 2-2 G-MAC) at Ohio Valley (1-8, 0-4 G-MAC) | 12 p.m. Sunday, March 21 | City Park – Parkersburg, WV | Video | Live Stats
Hillsdale College (6-6, 2-2 G-MAC) at Ohio Valley (1-8, 0-4 G-MAC) | 2:45 p.m. Sunday, March 20 | City Park – Parkersburg, WV | Video | Live Stats
Preview:
Hillsdale split a highly-competitive, back-and-forth four game series with visiting Ohio Dominican last weekend to move to 6-6 overall and 2-2 in G-MAC play.
The Chargers move into this weekend with an opportunity to put themselves in a good position in the G-MAC standings if Hillsdale can have a successful road series against Ohio Valley down in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
At 1-8, Ohio Valley has struggled to start the season, though the Fighting Scots' ugly record covers up three losses by three runs or less that could have easily turned to wins with a timely late hit. OVU was swept by host Tiffin in their G-MAC opening series last weekend.
At the plate, the Fighting Scots are led by freshman catcher Lizandro Garcia, who's batting .333 in seven starts with three doubles and a home run. Freshman infielder Nyles Duren is also hitting .286 for OVU as well, and senior infielder Kade Phillips leads the Scots with five RBIs.
On the mound, senior relief pitcher Nicholas Shower has been solid for OVU with a 2.19 ERA in 12 innings and 14 strikeouts to two walks. The Scots' top starter so far is junior Eero Perkola, who's posted a 5.52 ERA and 13 strikeouts in three appearances, all no-decisions.
Hillsdale continues to be one of the top power teams in the conference offensively. The Chargers have two of the three players in the G-MAC with four or more home runs – sophomores Aidan Brewer and Jeff Landis, and Landis leads the entire conference with six, including three grand slams. Junior Cody Kanclerz is hitting .319 as well for the Chargers, and Lewis Beals, Cooper Peterson and Steven Strachan III have each added a home run.
On the mound, the Chargers return every pitcher that started a game for Hillsdale in 2020, led by fifth-year senior and ace Andrew Verbrugge, who's chasing several all-time pitching records for the Chargers in his final year on the mound.
Close behind is junior David Toth, who threw the program's first no-hitter in at least 23 years against Maryville on the first day of the season, and Sawyer Allen is 2-1 after a strong start against Ohio Dominican last weekend.
In relief, James Krick, Paul Brophy and Will Gifford all picked up saves for Hillsdale in the season-opening series against Maryville to headline a deep staff of bullpen arms the Chargers can call on if the need arises.