The Hillsdale College baseball team gave G-MAC leading Northwood all it could handle this weekend, and nearly took the series against the Timberwolves on the road, but came up just short in two one-run losses on Saturday.
Hillsdale fell 3-2 in the opening contest despite a strong outing on the mound from starter Tommy MacLean, who was the hard-luck loser after going six and one-third innings with five strikeouts, two walks and three earned runs surrendered. The Chargers trailed 1-0 early, but took the lead in the fourth inning, as catcher Jaekob Sallee finished off a run of four hits with a RBI single that scored Joe Hardenbergh and Will Shannon to give Hillsdale a 2-1 lead.
It looked like that advantage might hold up, as MacLean efficiently worked through the next two innings, but a leadoff home run in the bottom of the sixth by the Timberwolves tied the game at two apiece, and Northwood was able to manufacture the walk-off hit with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to take the victory.
Four of Hillsdale's five hits came in the top of the fourth inning, starting with a double by Will Shannon, and including singles by Joe Hardenbergh and Aidan Brewer. Nick Stepke added a single as well for the Chargers.
The nightcap was just as tight, as Hillsdale fell 2-1 on another late run by the Timberwolves. Northwood took a 1-0 lead early on a RBI single in the bottom of the second inning, but the Chargers came through with big hits in the top of the seventh to tie the game. Shannon and Hardenbergh hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning,and senior Cody Kanclerz drove Shannon in on an infield single to knot the game at one apiece.
The Chargers got runners in scoring position in each of the next two innings, but were unable to break through, and Northwood pulled ahead for good in the bottom of the eighth, taking advantage of a fielding error in the outfield to score the eventual game-winning run with two outs.
Will Gifford pitched brilliantly for the Chargers, going seven innings with seven strikeouts, a walk, and just six hits and one earned run conceded. Chad Stevens took the loss in relief for Hillsdale, striking out two of the five batters he faced and conceding just the one unearned run for the Chargers.
Kanclerz went 2 for 4 with the RBI hit to lead Hillsdale at the plate, and Brewer, Nate Waligora and Danny Passinault each added a base hit as well for the Chargers.
Hillsdale falls to 13-17 overall, and 8-8 in the G-MAC, but picking up a victory against the top team in the conference this weekend keeps the Chargers in solid position in the race to earn a G-MAC Tournament berth. The Chargers next travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan on Tuesday for a big non-conference contest against NCAA DI Central Michigan, a perennial NCAA Tournament team at the top level of the sport, at 3 p.m.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan