After a challenging start, the Hillsdale College baseball team might be heating up at just the right time.
Hillsdale secured its second series victory of the season with a 9-3 victory over visiting Tiffin on Sunday, their third win in a row and their fourth in five games after a 4-12 start.
The Chargers seized control of the series finale with a big third inning, plating five runs to overcome a 1-0 deficit and build a lead Hillsdale would hold to the finish. Hillsdale took advantage of an early pitching change and back-to-back walks to open the bottom of the third, with junior Will Shannon starting the scoring with a RBI single to left field to tie the game. Two batters later, senior Joe Hardenbergh put Hillsdale ahead with a two-run single to left field, and Hillsdale would later tack on a run on a RBI single by Rocco Tenuta and plate another on a Tiffin error to take a 5-1 lead.
That lead would hold up for the remainder of the contest. Tiffin cut into the deficit with two runs in the top of the fifth, but the Chargers answered back in the bottom of the sixth with a RBI single by Jaekob Sallee, and a sacrifice fly by Jeff Landis to later score Sallee from third. A two-run single by Kaden Nowak in the bottom of the seventh helped Hillsdale put more separation between themselves and the Dragons.
Solid pitching performances for the third straight outing played a big role in Hillsdale's victory. Senior Paul Brophy picked up his second win in as many starts in the last two weeks with a confident six-inning performance, striking out five, walking three and getting the Chargers to the bullpen with the lead. Redshirt freshman Logan McLaughlin shined in two innings of scoreless relief, striking out five of the eight batters he faced with one walk, while junior Andrew George worked a scoreless ninth inning, retiring all three batters he faced.
At the plate, the Chargers pounded out 12 hits to win by a comfortable margin. Shannon capped a strong weekend with a 3 for 5 outing, while Landis, Nowak and freshman Will Millard all finished with two hits as well. Danny Passinault also stole a base for Hillsdale.
With the win, the Chargers improve to 8-13 overall, and get back to .500 in the G-MAC at 4-4 ahead of a critical conference road trip. The Chargers make the long trip south to Nashville over Easter weekend to play Trevecca Nazarene in a four game set. The Trojans, always a contender in the G-MAC, are off to a solid 4-2 start in conference play, so a split or a series win would be a major boost to Hillsdale's conference hopes if the Chargers can pull it off against a tough opponent.
Photo by Steve George