The Hillsdale College baseball team kicked off a weekend series against a Midwest Regional powerhouse in style on Saturday night under the lights in Kodak, Tennessee.
The Chargers were dominant in an 11-0 victory over Wayne State, outhitting the Warriors, who entered the weekend ranked fourth in the Midwest Region in the most recent NCBWA poll, 18-5 while racking up 10 extra-base hits.
Hillsdale jumped on Wayne State ace Ryan Korolden, a returning All-American and one of the best pitchers in the Midwest Region entering the 2023 season, early, scoring seven runs on 11 hits and forcing him out of the game after just four innings. Junior first baseman Jeff Landis got the Chargers started with a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning to score Aidan Brewer and Cody Kanclerz, and Hillsdale took advantage of an error to score Jaekob Sallee and take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
The Chargers broke the game open in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore Will Shannon drove in Landis on a RBI single, and on the next at-bat, Joe Hardenbergh hit a two-run home run that gave Hillsdale a 6-0 lead.
Hillsdale would take on five more runs over the final six innings to remove any doubt. Lewis Beals drove in three combined runs, one on a single in the fourth inning and two on a triple in the eighth, Shannon added another RBI single, and Danny Passinault chipped in a RBI single as well.
On the mound, Will Gifford was effective as a starter in keeping down a dangerous Wayne State lineup, striking out five batters and scattering five hits in six scoreless innings of work. Junior Devin Murray closed out the game with his best outing to date in a Charger uniform, throwing three innings of no-hit ball with one strikeout and two walks to complete the shutout.
At the plate, Jeff Landis led the way with a perfect day for the Chargers, going 4 for 4 with two doubles, while Shannon was 4 for 5 with the two RBI hits as well. Jaekob Sallee chipped in two doubles for the Chargers, Cody Kanclerz went 2 for 5 with a double and Aidan Brewer added a double as well.
Hillsdale wrapped up the weekend series against the Warriors today, Sunday, with games currently in progress. One of the four scheduled games for this weekend was not played due to weather, and will be made up as a midweek contest at Wayne State at a later date this season to be determined.