Jeff Landis had three hits on Sunday for the Hillsdale College baseball team, including a solo home run.
But the junior first baseman's biggest hit of the day was a single.
With the Chargers trailing 7-6 to host Lee and down to their last out in the top of the ninth inning, Landis came to the plate with the bases loaded and took the first pitch he saw up the middle for a two-run base knock that proved to be the winning hit in Hillsdale's 8-7 victory over the nationally-ranked Flames.
Hillsdale got two on in the inning thanks to back-to-back singles by Cody Kanclerz and Nick Stepke, and then Aidan Brewer drew a 10-pitch walk to load the bases, fouling off the Lee pitcher four times until he got the pitch he needed to get on base and set up Landis for the winning hit.
It was the second straight inning the Chargers entered trailing and exited with the lead, after Hillsdale came into the eighth trailing 5-4. Brewer led off the inning with a double and Beals hit a two-run home run over the right-field fence to help Hillsdale take a 6-5 lead late. The Flames answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to retake a 7-6 advantage, setting the stage for a dramatic ninth inning.
After Landis put the Chargers ahead, Hillsdale still had to get the final three outs to pull out the victory. Reliever Dillon Manion, who had conceded the go-ahead run to the Flames in the eighth inning on a single, gave up a one-out double and the runner reached third on a stolen base, but the senior came through on the next two batters, striking out both swinging to strand the potential tying run at third and secure the victory.
Sunday's game was a strong one for the Chargers offense, who finished with 10 hits in the contest, two more than Hillsdale had in the entire doubleheader the previous day against the Flames. Landis led with a 3 for 4 performance, driving five of Hillsdale's eight runs, Beals went 2 for 3 with a two-run home run and another RBI single, and Stepke went 2 for 3 as well.
Manion got the win in relief, striking out two of the six batters he faced in an inning and a third of work. Drew Olssen started the game for the Chargers and went four innings with four strikeouts, two walks and three earned runs conceded, and Paul Brophy and Chad Stevens also appeared in relief for the Chargers.
It caps an impressive weekend for the Chargers, who looked overmatched in their first game against the Flames on Saturday but quickly adjusted to the level of competition and toppled the nationally-ranked squad in the final two games of the weekend to finish 2-1 in the opening series of the 2023 season.
The strong showing in the final two games should give Hillsdale momentum heading into another tough three game series next weekend against a strong foe, Midwest Region powerhouse Davenport, beginning on Friday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. in Millington, Tennessee.