The Hillsdale College baseball team came into this weekend's series with Lake Erie needing a sweep to keep its postseason hopes alive.
Mission accomplished, as the Chargers took all four games, including racking up three wins on Saturday -- a 10-5 seven inning victory that was started on Friday and finished on Saturday morning, as well as 7-0 and 19-12 victories in the originally scheduled doubleheader.
Leading the way for the Chargers was sophomore shortstop Aidan Brewer, who was the linchpin of an offensive attack that put up 52 runs this weekend. Brewer went 15 for 19 at the plate for the Chargers, including 9 for 10 on Saturday in Hillsdale's three victories.
The Chargers' first win of the day actually started on Friday night, in the second game of that day's doubleheader. Brewer gave Hillsdale an early lead with a two-run home run to right field in the top of the first inning, but Lake Erie scored the next three runs to take a 3-2 lead through the fourth inning.
Hillsdale took control in the fifth inning, thanks to another Brewer two-run shot, this time to left field. That sparked a six-run inning for the Chargers, who also got a RBI single from Nick Stepke and a two-run double from Jaekob Sallee as well. Lake Erie would get two runs back in the bottom of the inning before rain suspended the game with five innings complete.
Picking back up in the sixth on Saturday, Hillsdale shut down the Storm over the final two innings, and tacked on two more runs by sacrifice flies to secure the victory. Paul Brpohy picked up the win on the mound for the Chargers, striking out four and walking none in four innings, while James Crick closed out the final two innings on Saturday, striking out four of the seven batters he faced in two scoreless innings. Zane Barnhart also struck out two in an inning of relief for Hillsdale as well.
Brewer went 4 for 5 at the plate for Hillsdale, and Stepke was 2 for 2 as well.
In the first full game on Saturday, junior Cody Kanclerz led off the top of the first with a solo home run to left field, and that would be all the runs Hillsdale would need as the Chargers shut out the Storm in a 7-0 victory.
Starter Will Gifford pitched six scoreless innings to earn his fifth victory of the season, striking out five and walking two, and Dillon Manion also struck out two of the four batters he faced in an inning of relief. Hillsdale played stout defense behind Gifford and Manion, turning two double plays and finishing the game with zero errors.
Brewer went 4 for 4 at the plate with a RBI single in the top of the fifth, and James Krick, Jeff Landis and Joe Hardenbergh each chipped in a RBI single as well. Krick was 3 for 4 at the plate in the win, and Lewis Beals and Kanclerz each chipped in two hits.
In the final game of the series, Hillsdale overcame an early 6-0 deficit with serious offensive firepower in a 19-12 victory. Once again, it was Brewer who jump-started the comeback with a two-run single in the top of the third, and James Krick chipped in a RBI single as well. Despite a five-run inning, the Chargers still trailed 9-5 in the top of the fifth when Hillsdale put together a six-run inning to jump ahead.
Taking advantage of a Lake Erie error that scored two runs and kept the inning alive, Danny Passinault drove in a run on a single and the Chargers scored three runs on wild pitches to take an 11-9 lead.
Hillsdale added two more runs in the six on a RBI triple by Jaekob Sallee and a RBI single by Passinault, part of eight runs scored by the Chargers in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to pull away. Landis capped the scoring for the Chargers in the top of the eighth with a three-run home run.
Brewer and Passinault each finished with three hits in the victory to lead the Chargers at the plate. Brendan Pochmara earned the win on the mound in relief for the Chargers, pitching four innings and striking out four while giving up no earned runs and just one hit. Tommy MacLean got the start for Hillsdale, striking out three and giving up two in three innings, and David Toth appeared in relief as well.
Redshirt freshman Kolin Endres also made his collegiate debut for the Chargers, pitching one and two-thirds scoreless innings with one strikeout and no hits or walks surrendered.
With the sweep, the Chargers improve to 18-21 overall and 11-13 in the G-MAC, and remain in the hunt for one of the six G-MAC tournament berths with two series remaining. Hillsdale has next week off and will open back up on Tuesday, April 26 with a trip to Wayne State for a single 3 p.m. contest.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop