Through five games, pitching and defense have helped the Hillsdale College baseball team to an impressive start to the 2023 season.
But facing a strong Davenport team on Sunday with the weekend series in the balance, the Chargers reminded everyone that they've got plenty of firepower offensively as well.
Hillsdale outslugged the Panthers 14 to 8 in terms of hits, including two home runs, to win a wild 13-8 contest and improve to 4-2 in 2023 with series wins over a top 25 team and one of the Midwest's best squads.
A back-and-forth game through four innings, Hillsdale went ahead for good with a four run fifth inning. The Chargers loaded the bases with two outs and then got two clutch hits, a single to left field by Nick Stepke that scored two runs to tie the game at 7 apiece, and a double by Aidan Brewer in the next at-bat that put the Chargers ahead, 8-7. Will Shannon also drew a bases-loaded walk that added another run for Hillsdale in the inning.
Davenport closed the gap with a run in the top of the sixth inning, but from there the Chargers shut the Panthers down, holding Davenport scoreless over the final three innings. Paul Brophy pitched two and a third innings to get the win in relief, striking out two, walking none and giving up just one earned run, getting the ball to closer Zane Barnhart with a lead. Barnhart did the rest in his third dominant performance in three appearances this season, striking out the side in the eighth inning and five of the six batters he faced to record his second save of the season and stretch his streak of innings without conceding a run to 15 dating back to the 2022 campaign.
Although Brophy and Barnhart were good enough that Hillsdale didn't need any additional offense to win the game, the Chargers still added plenty of insurance in their final two innings at the plate as well. Junior Nate Waligora hit a RBI single to score Will Shannon in the bottom of the seventh, and Zak Kent also scored on a passed ball to add two more runs to Hillsdale's lead, and Brewer put an exclamation point on the day for the Charger batters with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth.
Stepke led the Chargers at the plate, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs in the victory, while Brewer added three RBIs on his double and home run as well, and Shannon went 2 for 5 with a solo home run in the second inning as well. Danny Passinault went 2 for 3 at the plate with a RBI single for the Chargers, and Cody Kanclerz added a RBI double and a sacrifice fly for a RBI as well.
Drew Olssen got the start for Hillsdale, going four and two-thirds innings with one strikeout and three walks. The Chargers played solid defense to back up their pitching staff, committing just a single throwing error in the outfield in the contest.
At 4-2, Hillsdale has now opened the season with back-to-back series wins for the first time since 2016, when the Chargers set a program record for wins and made the NCAA DII Tournament. The Chargers take next weekend off after an auspicious start and next travel back to Tennessee on Feb. 25 and 26 to take on another Midwest Region powerhouse in GLIAC title contender Wayne State for a four-game series at Smokies Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.