The Hillsdale College baseball team got Wednesday's midweek contest at Grand Valley State off to a solid start, taking an early lead, but a five-run fourth inning by the Lakers wiped out the Chargers' advantage in a 9-4 GVSU win.
Hillsdale got on the board on the top of the first inning, as Lewis Beals singled with one out, was moved over to third on a Will Shannon single and a GVSU error, and was driven in on a sacrifice fly by Cody Kanclerz to give the Chargers an early 1-0 lead. The Lakers tied the game in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly of their own, but Hillsdale moved back ahead 3-1 in the top of the fourth on a RBI double by Danny Passinault and a RBI ground out by Aidan Brewer.
The Chargers looked to be in a solid position, but GVSU blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning, plating five runs on five hits to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 lead. The Lakers added two more runs in the fifth and a third in the sixth to pull away.
Hillsdale was able to counterpunch in the seventh, getting a RBI single by Jaekob Sallee to right field to score Joe Hardenbergh, but it wasn't enough to get back in the game.
Beals led the Chargers at the plate, going 2 for 5 and finishing with two of Hillsdale's six hits, while Hardenbergh added two stolen bases. Devin Murray took the loss in relief for Hillsdale, who threw seven pitchers as part of a staff day heading into a G-MAC series this weekend. Junior Zane Barnhart had the longest and most effective stint for the Chargers, pitching the final two innings, striking out three batters, and giving up no runs.
Brandon Scott got the start for Hillsdale, pitching a scoreless first inning, and Caleb Biedenharn, Brendan Pochmara, Kolin Endres and Chad Stevens also pitched for the Chargers in the loss.
Hillsdale, now 17-19 overall, will play its final home series of 2023 this weekend, taking on Walsh in four contests that will have a major impact on the G-MAC standings, with the Chargers currently sitting in fifth place and the Cavaliers in third overall in terms of record.
The games begin on Sunday at 1 p.m. The doubleheader also is Senior Day for Hillsdale, and the Chargers will honor their nine graduating seniors before the first contest of the day. The series against Walsh was originally scheduled to be a Saturday-Sunday series, but will now be played Sunday-Monday thanks to expected inclement weather on Saturday.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan