The Hillsdale College baseball team did enough to win both games of its home and G-MAC opening doubleheader against visiting Ashland on Sunday, but costly miscues hurt the Chargers in both a 14-12 game one defeat and a 4-3 loss in seven innings in the nightcap.
The Chargers struck first in the first game, on a Jeff Landis RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, and retook the lead with four runs in the fourth, keyed by a single from Lewis Beals that scored two and an Aidan Brewer RBI single.
Hillsdale tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, buoyed by another RBI hit from Landis, this time a double, and appeared to seize control of the game with a 9-5 lead.
But Ashland struck back in the top of the seventh, plating nine runs with two outs to turn a four-run deficit into a five-run lead. A Charger error after the Eagles had already cut the deficit to 9-8 extended the inning and allowed six more runs to score.
That lead proved to be too much for the Chargers to overcome, though Hillsdale made a valiant attempt, cutting the deficit to 14-12 in the eighth inning with a two-run single by Landis and a sacrifice fly by Nick Stepke to score Brewer. Hillsdale did get the tying run at the plate in the ninth, but couldn't extend the rally long enough to make up the gap.
Landis led the Chargers with a 4 for 4 outing at the plate, including three hits that drove in runs, and five RBIs. Joe Hardenbergh went 3 for 4 with a double as well for Hillsdale, and Beals and Brewer each chipped in two hits.
Zane Barnhart took the loss in relief for Hillsdale, falling to 1-1 on the year. Tommy MacLean got the start and went four innings with four strikeouts and four earned runs conceded, and Dillon Manion and Caleb Biedenharn also pitched in relief, combining to go four and two-thirds innings with five strikeouts and two walks.
While the first game was a slugfest, the second contest was a tightly contested defensive battle. Both teams finished with six hits, but Hillsdale committed four errors to Ashland's one. A Charger error proved decisive in the Eagles three-run inning in the top of the fourth, allowing two runs to score unearned that gave Ashland an edge it would never relinquish. Another error in the top of the seventh allowed Ashland to scrape a critical insurance run across to give itself a 4-1 cushion entering the bottom of the seventh inning.
That meant that a two-run home run by pinch hitter James Krick in the final inning only cut into the deficit instead of tying the game. The Chargers were able to follow that up by getting a potential tying run on base, but couldn't push him across before Hillsdale ran out of outs.
Stepke hit a double as well for Hillsdale in the loss, while freshman Zak Kent recorded his first career hit in the bottom of the seventh to give the Chargers a chance with two outs.
Junior Paul Brophy (0-5) had his best start of the season to date but was the hard-luck loser by one run for Hillsdale. Brophy struck out three, walked one and gave up just six hits and one earned run in a complete-game performance.
Now 8-12 overall, 2-4 in G-MAC play, Hillsdale will look to bounce back tomorrow, Monday, with two more contests with the Eagles. The Chargers will aim to repeat what they did against Findlay last week, rallying from dropping the first two games of the series on Sunday by sweeping the Monday doubleheader to get back to .500 in conference play.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop