Although the Hillsdale College baseball team was able to snap a 12-game conference winning streak for host Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday, finding another win in the weekend series to force a split proved to be just out of reach for the Chargers.
For the second straight day on Sunday, Hillsdale's pitching and defense did a good job of holding a powerhouse Panther lineup enough in check to give the Chargers a chance, but Hillsdale's bats never really heated up in 7-5 and 6-2 defeats.
In the first game of the day, the Chargers fell behind 5-0 in the first two innings. Hillsdale got a run back in the top of the third and cut the lead to 5-4 in the top of the fifth on a solo home run by Danny Passinault, his second of the weekend, and a two-run double by Aidan Brewer.
In the bottom of the inning, KWC got two critical insurance runs to stretch the lead to 7-4. While Cody Kanclerz hit a RBI double for the Chargers to cut into the lead again in the top of the sixth, the Chargers were unable to close the gap any further.
Rob Zurawski, Nick Stepke and Jaekob Sallee each chipped in a hit as well for the Chargers. James Krick took the loss for Hillsdale, going four and a third innings with two strikeouts and two walks, and Paul Brophy pitched an inning and two thirds of relief as well.
In the nightcap, Stepke hit a RBI single in the top of the first to stake Hillsdale an early lead, and Hillsdale led 2-1 as late as the bottom of the sixth inning, but KWC plated five runs in that half-inning to seize control for a 6-2 victory.
Stepke went 2 for 3 on the day to lead the Chargers at the plate, and Jeff Landis, Cooper Peterson and Passinault each chipped in a hit as well.
Andrew Verbrugge took the loss for Hillsdale, going five innings with three hits and four walks, and Brendan Pochmara pitched three innings of relief for the Chargers, with two strikeouts and two walks as well.
Hillsdale (14-14, 10-10 G-MAC) remains four games ahead of Malone for the eighth and final spot in the G-MAC tournament with three series remaining, and with the fourth through eighth spots in the standings within four games of each other, there's plenty for the Chargers to play for in terms of seeding over the final three weekends.
The Chargers travel to Tiffin next for a four-game series, beginning on April 24.
Photo by Summer Fields