The Hillsdale College baseball team is heading south this weekend to kick off its season with a series of exhibition games. The Chargers will play three games against Milligan University, an NAIA school based in Milligan, Tennessee.
“We’re looking forward to playing, it’s been a long time,” head coach Eric Theisen said. “We’re confident and we’re excited to see our guys compete. We’re looking forward to getting on the field and let the guys have some fun competing out there.”
More than half of his team has yet to play a full season of college ball, but he said he’s still confident in his players’ talent.
“We’re young, but we think we’re pretty talented,” he said. “Our offense has been a strength for a number of years now and we’re rounding out that with some talented pitching.”
Leading this talented group of pitchers will be senior Andrew Vebrugge who returned for his fifth year after missing out on last season. He’s been a starting pitcher on the Chargers’ staff since his freshman year and will provide solid leadership for the younger pitchers.
“We’re all feeling pretty good. I think we have a lot of talent this year, not saying we didn’t in previous years but this year is a little different,” Verbrugge said. “Being here for a fifth year now, I think this is one of the best teams we’ve had training wise and talent wise.”
The Chargers also welcomed assistant pitching coach Travis Pant this fall, and according to Verbrugge, he has already made a large impact on the team.
“He’s helped us a lot with technique,” he said. “He’s certainly helped me in my growth a lot as a pitcher.”
Pant comes from Petersburg-Summerfield High School where he led the team to the Division 4 MHSAA title in 2019. Theisen said Pant brings a lot of experience and a much more analytical approach to coaching.
“He’s done a lot for us in terms of being able to dive into our data and analytics on the pitching end,” Theisen said.
This weekend’s exhibitions will replace the exhibitions the Chargers normally would have played in the fall. Verbrugge said they haven’t been able to get out on the field either, so this weekend will be the first time the Chargers have played outside of their practice barn in a long time.
“We didn’t get to play much in the fall,” Verbrugge said. “So this will be a good intro to the season, we’re getting ready to go.”
Saturday’s exhibition games start at noon and 3 p.m. and Sunday’s game will be at 3:30 p.m. The Chargers will begin their season with their first series of games next weekend in Missouri.