The Hillsdale College baseball team looked locked in to kick off a critical road weekend series against Lake Erie on Friday, scoring the first 11 runs of the game to K.O. the Storm early in a 20-8 victory that's the first in a four game series.
The Chargers seized the lead immediately in the game played at Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio, taking advantage of control issues for the Lake Erie staff to plate four runs without a single hit. The Storm walked five batters, including two bases-loaded walks to score runs for Hillsdale, and the Chargers also scored a run on a hit batter and a passed ball to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the first.
Leading 5-0 after two, Hillsdale landed the deciding blow in the top of the third inning, scoring six runs to take a double-digit lead it would never relinquish. Junior Will Shannon and senior Jeff Landis hit back to back home runs to right center to score three of those runs, and Rocco Tenuta also hit a two-run double as well to give the Chargers an 11-0 lead.
Shannon added a second home run, a three-run shot, in the top of the fifth, and Hillsdale continued to pull away in the top of the sixth, plating six runs, including a two-run single by Tenuta and a RBI single by Will Millard.
Hillsdale scored 20 runs on just 13 hits thanks in part to three home runs, and by punishing the Storm for 18 free bases issued by their pitchers between walks and hit batters. Shannon was 3 for 4 at the plate with a double and two home runs for five total RBIs, Tenuta was 3 for 3 with four RBIs, and senior Jaekob Sallee added three hits, including a double in a strong day at the plate for the Chargers and a big statement by Hillsdale after a tough weekend on the road the week prior.
On the mound, Tommy MacLean picked up his second win of the season for the Chargers, going five and two thirds innings with four strikeouts and three walks to secure the victory. Brendan Pochmara came on in relief and pitched the final inning and a third for Hillsdale, striking out one and walking two.
With the victory, the Chargers improve to 10-17 overall and 5-8 in G-MAC play. With the series-opening victory secured, Hillsdale will look to take the series over the next two days in an important opportunity for the Chargers to bank critical wins with the race for a berth in the season-ending G-MAC Tourney looking especially tight this year.
Photo by Steve George