Schedule
Tiffin (9-15, 1-7 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (8-14, 3-5 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, April 1 | Johnny Williams Field – Hillsdale, MI
Tiffin (9-15, 1-7 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (8-14, 3-5 G-MAC) | 4 p.m. ET Saturday, April 1 | Johnny Williams Field – Hillsdale, MI
Tiffin (9-15, 1-7 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (8-14, 3-5 G-MAC) | 12 p.m. ET Sunday, April 2 | Johnny Williams Field – Hillsdale, MI
Tiffin (9-15, 1-7 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (8-14, 3-5 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. ET Sunday, April 2 | Johnny Williams Field – Hillsdale, MI
Hillsdale College (8-14, 3-5 G-MAC) at Grand Valley State (14-6, 3-2 GLIAC) | 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, April 4 | GVSU Baseball Field – Allendale, MI
Links
Hillsdale Roster | Tiffin Roster | GVSU Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Tiffin Stats | GVSU Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
Preview
The Hillsdale College baseball team got a much-needed split down at Kentucky Wesleyan this past weekend to improve their conference record. Now, heading into their first true home series of 2023, the Chargers have an opportunity to solidify their standing in the G-MAC North Division against visiting Tiffin, as well as traveling to GVSU for the back end of a home-and-home series on Tuesday.
The Chargers open the series with Tiffin at home on Saturday. A perennial G-MAC contender who won the conference regular season title in 2022, the Dragons are off to a tough start, currently 9-15 and 1-7 in G-MAC play, though their two series came against two of the top teams in the North Division.
The Dragons are rebuilding what was the league's best pitching staff a year ago after losing their top two starters to graduation. Tiffin does return second-team All-G-MAC pitcher Gunnar Boehm, now the team's ace with six starts, 23 strikeouts and 1-4 record, as does top reliever Mat Carden. Senior Kyler Archual and sophomore Noah Kandel also regularly start for the Dragons, while Logan Fisher and Zach Johnson have also been in the starting mix for Tiffin.
While Tiffin has struggled on the mound, posting the 11th best ERA out of 12 G-MAC teams, the Dragons have continued to excel at the plate, hitting .304, the second best mark in the G-MAC so far. Two returning first-team All-G-MAC players, second baseman Griffin Stevens (.439, 18 RBIs) and designated hitter Tim Orr (.390, 20 RBIs) have opened the season on a tear, while JuCo transfers Ben Bach and Cal Brazier also have impressed for a potent Tiffin offense.
After the conclusion of its series with Tiffin, Hillsdale travels to Allendale on Tuesday for the second of two midweek contests against Grand Valley State. GVSU won the first meeting, 11-3, on March 21.
Coming off a 30-win season a year ago, GVSU is off to an impressive 14-6 start. Three of its six losses came to undefeated UIndy, and the Lakers cleaned up in the RussMatt Invitational down in Florida, going 9-1 in the week-long event.
GVSU returns two of its biggest bats in NCBWA Preseason All-Region honorees and outfielders Nate Logan and Spencer Nelson, and that pair have been reinforced by freshman infielder Ayden VanEnkevort, who's hitting .268 with a team-leading 16 RBIs. Sophomore Jonas Gulbrandsen, a third baseman, has been GVSU's best all-around hitter so far, batting .400 with six doubles and 15 RBIs.
The Lakers' ace is junior Nick Rutkowski, who's 4-1 this season with a 1.64 ERA in five starts, though the Chargers are unlikely to see him in a mid-week contest. Freshman Mike Morawski has a 0.61 ERA in one start and two appearances and could get the call for GVSU, with other options including Brendan Pierce, Owen Avery and Ryan Peets. GVSU's top bullpen arms are Sam Leck and Jake Rydquist, who have a combined three saves in seven appearances.
The Chargers have talent offensively, returning several decorated hitters who rank among the all-time greats statistically at Hillsdale, but are still looking for consistent performance two months into the season. Returning All-Conference outfielder Lewis Beals leads the Chargers with a .342 batting average, nine extra base hits and 18 RBIs, while junior Jeff Landis brings power to Hillsdale's lineup, with four doubles, five home runs and 18 RBIs as well. Junior Joe Hardenbergh is hitting .319 with a team-leading six home runs as well for the Chargers, while sophomore Will Shannon has five home runs and is hitting .313.
On the mound, ace Will Gifford returns for the Chargers after going 6-4 with a 4.24 ERA and an impressive 67 strikeouts last season. Gifford was named G-MAC North Division Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 27 for his play in the Wayne St. series. Sophomore Tommy MacLean is a consistent first day starter as well and is off to an excellent start for Hillsdale, while junior Paul Brophy also has significant starting experience for the Chargers.
In the bullpen, Hillsdale has one of the G-MAC's top closers in Zane Barnhart, who recorded six saves and a team-leading 2.21 ERA while posting 14.16 strikeouts per nine innings, to head an experienced bullpen staff looking to make big improvements from 2022. Barnhart looks like one of the best relief pitchers in the G-MAC so far, earning three wins and two saves in seven appearances with a 2.05 ERA and pitching five and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief and earning the win in an 11-10 extra inning thriller over Kentucky Wesleyan last weekend.
Hillsdale is 8-57 all-time against Grand Valley State, and the Chargers are 3-12 against Tiffin in regular season contests since joining the G-MAC in 2017, including 1-3 in a series at Tiffin in 2022.