The Hillsdale College baseball team couldn't hold onto an early lead in the first game, and fell too far behind early in the second game of a doubleheader sweep at the hands of host Tiffin on Saturday.
The Chargers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in game one of the day, but a massive seven-run eighth inning for the Dragons gave them a 7-3 victory.
Aidan Brewer got the Chargers on the board in the top of the second inning with a RBI double, and Tyler Harris and Rob Zurawski each chipped in RBI singles later in the inning to give Hillsdale the early edge.
The Chargers held that lead through the top of the eighth inning, shutting out the Dragons, but Tiffin's bats exploded in the bottom of the eighth, keyed by a three-run home run that tied the game to start the Dragons' scoring.
Starter David Toth pitched five and two-thirds scoreless innings for the Chargers in the no-decision, giving up just one hit, striking out 11 and walking seven. Logan Simon took the loss in relief, pitching one and a third innings with two strikeouts and a walk, and Zane Barnhart pitched an inning of relief for the Chargers with one strikeout as well.
Zurawski finished 2 for 4 to lead Hillsdale at the plate in the first game, and Cody Kanclerz chipped in a double as well.
In the second game, Tiffin got on the board early, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first, and built a 10-1 lead by the bottom of the fifth. The Chargers plated five runs in the top of the seventh inning to attempt a rally, but came up short in a 10-6 defeat.
Steven Strachan III hit a solo home run, Zurawski chipped in a two-run single and Jaekob Sallee added a RBI single as well to lead the Chargers at the plate in the second game. Kanclerz went 2 for 4 as well for Hillsdale, and Brewer and Nick Stepke each chipped in a double.
Sawyer Allen took the loss for Hillsdale, pitching three innings with three strikeouts and no walks. The Chargers used four relief pitchers in the second game, with Will Gifford recording two strikeouts and Caleb Biedenharn and Nate Waligora each adding one.
The Chargers are now 14-16 overall, and 10-12 in G-MAC play heading into a critical Sunday doubleheader, where the Chargers need at least a split against the Dragons to avoid falling back onto the G-MAC tournament bubble with just 10 conference games remaining in the season.
Photo by Summer Fields