Baseball takes opening series

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Baseball takes opening series

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At 6 a.m. on Monday morning, the Hillsdale College baseball team finally returned to campus, giving the players just enough time to grab a nap, take a shower, and then head to their first class of the day.
The overnight trip was the tail end of a three-game opening weekend against the Paine College Lions in Augusta, Georgia. The Chargers went 2-1 on the trip, winning the bookend games 7-5 and 9-8 while dropping the middle game 13-10.
Head coach Eric Theisen, who stayed in his office upon return to prepare for the week ahead, explained the atmosphere surrounding the series.
“All three games this weekend came with a lot of emotion and a lot of passion,” he said. “That’s a team that plays the game of baseball with a lot of passion, and it allows us to do so as well. It was the kind of baseball you are lucky to be a part of. There isn’t a drug on earth that can make you feel like that.”
In a series full of fireworks and momentum swings, the “emotion and passion” from both sides was certainly warranted.
The first fireworks came in the top of the first inning of the first game when, after a triple by senior outfielder Luker Ortell and a walk by senior shortstop Michael O’Sullivan, junior first baseman Ethan Wiskur homered to give the Chargers an early 3-0 lead.
By the end of the third inning the Chargers led 7-1 thanks to two RBIs from O’Sullivan and one from junior designated hitter Eric Shankin, along with a plethora of hits from the rest of the team.
Theisen said that although not every player necessarily had the best game of their career, many players contributed something at just the right time, allowing for the high offensive output.
The Lions, however, refused to go down quietly, scoring in the fourth off of senior Hillsdale starter Jacob Gardner, who pitched four innings and gave up two runs — both earned — on five hits on his way to the win.
Hillsdale’s bullpen was able to fend off the Lions’ furious comeback attempt, allowing just three earned runs in three innings of work, sealing the 7-5 victory in the three-hour affair.
Game two of Saturday’s doubleheader proved to be an absolute barnburner, before being called two innings early due to darkness, giving the Lions a premature 13-10 victory.
For Hillsdale, the game was marked by both extremely high and low points.
The highest of which came in the top of the second when freshman catcher Steven Ring sent his first ever collegiate pitch over the fence for a grand slam, giving the Chargers a 4-1 lead.
“Honestly, I can’t even remember what it felt like. It was just incredible. I didn’t even realize what I did until I got back on campus and everyone started asking me about it,” Ring said. “I don’t think I have ever ran around the bases that fast or with such a big smile.”
After allowing one run in the bottom half of the second, the Chargers scored four in the fourth, but the Lions exploded with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning, knocking out sophomore starter Will Kruse, who threw 3 1/3 innings, allowing nine runs — three earned — on eight hits.
The Chargers scored three more times over the next two innings, but didn’t have enough daylight to complete the comeback.
“We certainly would’ve liked to have had the rest of our at-bats, and I think we could’ve come back,” said Theisen. “But we put ourselves in that situation to begin with.”
The rubber match of the series proved to be the most electric game of the weekend, with Theisen calling it the most exciting game he had ever been a part of.
Paine jumped on Hillsdale pitching early and exploited some Charger mistakes to get out to a 7-0 lead through three innings.
In the top of the fourth, however, Hillsdale started along the comeback trail, scoring four runs thanks to an RBI from Wiskur, two from senior outfielder Tad Sobieszczanski, and one from senior catcher Joe Gentile.
The Lions scored their last run in the bottom of the fifth, before the Charger bullpen shut them down for good, with senior captain Mitchell Gatt recording a hold — throwing his second perfecting inning of the weekend — Wiskur grabbing the win, and senior Chris McDonald securing his second save of the weekend.
“Mitchell Gatt had an incredible weekend. Guys that bridge the gap between the starters and closers are so underrated, and he did exactly what he is supposed to do,” Theisen said.
After an unearned run and an RBI from freshman infielder Colin Boerst gave the Chargers two more runs in the seventh, Sobieszczanski tied the game in the eighth with a sacrifice fly.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth, senior rightfielder Connor Bartlett made the defensive play of the weekend, firing a bullet to Ring from deep right field to gun down the tagging go-ahead run at the plate, ending the inning.
“It was the best throw I have ever seen in person,” Theisen said. “When he hit the ball I thought, ‘There goes the go-ahead run’. I wasn’t sure Conner would even throw it. He did, and then Ring made a great play at the plate.”
Ortel made the most of the tie ballgame, homering in the top of the ninth to give the Chargers a lead they would never give back, and securing the series victory.
“Before the home run I made a bad play in the field in the half inning before, and it almost cost us the game,” Ortell said. “But the home run completed the storybook ending to that game.”
Hillsdale will head to Louisville, Kentucky next weekend to play two games against both Alderson-Broaddus and Bellarmine.
“It is important to get off to a fast start and be comfortable in game situations right off the bat,” said Bartlett, who went 6-for-11 on the weekend. “It’s also just as important to keep that high level of play going throughout our long season.”