The Chargers’ lineup powered past Ohio Valley University to win three of the four games in the series last weekend. With seven home runs, Hillsdale outscored Ohio Valley 46-25.
“We’ve been pretty happy with our offense,” head coach Eric Theisen said. “That has been and continues to be our strength. When we make teams outhit us, we’re tough to beat and we want to make them earn their runs.”
Saturday, March 20 (Game 1): Hillsdale, 13, OVU, 8
Ohio Valley made it through its entire lineup in the bottom of the first, working around the bases to score three runs to start the game.
The Chargers began their comeback with a sac fly to score freshman Nick Stepke in the second, and a solo home run by freshman Jeff Landis in the third. Landis went on to hit one more home run in the series, totalling either homers this season.
“It feels like I have less time to make my impact than if I had the normal four years,” he said about losing last season. “I put in a lot of work this winter to get stronger and better and I’m just trusting the coaches and all the work we’ve put in.”
But Ohio Valley answered with a four-run inning in the seventh. Sophomore Will Gifford came in during the bottom of the seventh to pitch, holding the Fighting Scots scoreless for the remainder of the game to get the save.
With the score tied 8-8 heading into the ninth, the Chargers finished their comeback with a two-run homer by senior Rob Zurawski and three more runs to follow, winning the game 13-8.
Saturday, March 20 (Game 2): OVU, 10, Hillsdale, 4
Despite sophomore Cody Kanclerz’ home run in the top of the first to start the game, Ohio Valley dominated the plate with eight runs in the bottom of the first to take control of the game.
A spark of hope came in the top of the seventh when Stepke hit another home run and freshman Danny Passinault singled to score freshman Jaekob Sallee, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the Fighting Scots’ early lead.
“We got down pretty early and that didn’t help the team morale,” senior Andrew Verbrugge said. “But we made a decent comeback.”
Sunday, March 21 (Game 3): Hillsdale, 12, OVU, 5
The Chargers came back the next day capitalizing on 13 hits to score 12 runs. Kanclerz singled in the top of the first to start the game. Zurawski came up to the plate next to hit a double, scoring Kanclerz. Zurawski managed to score on after stealing third and home on two wild pitches.
“Whenever you see that your team has the lead, it kinda gives you a relaxed feeling knowing you kinda have a buffer zone,” Verbrugge said. “You can force them to hit the ball and you can focus on throwing strikes.”
Verbrugge pitched through six innings to get the win, facing 31 batters and striking out seven.
By the top of the sixth, the Chargers’ held a one-point lead, 6-5. Soon enough Landis was up to bat who doubled to score Zurawski to spark the Hillsdale lineup. The Chargers posted a five-run inning to extend their lead, which they held onto the rest of the game by holding Ohio Valley scoreless.
Sunday, March 21 (Game 4): Hillsdale, 11, OVU, 8
A productive second inning from the Chargers’ lineup set the team up for success for the remainder of the game. Hillsdale scored seven runs, including a three-run homer by Landis.
Their large early lead wasn’t uncontested, however. By the top of the ninth the Chargers had a 9-8 lead. Stepke singled to spark two more hits for the Hillsdale lineup leading to two runs to finish the game.
“Stepke got an opportunity a couple weeks ago and he hasn’t looked back,” Theisen said.
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“We’re always trying to make adjustments and get better,” Theisen said. “We swung it this weekend and we got the job done well enough to come out with some Ws.”
Hillsdale will travel to Malone University this weekend to play its third conference series on Saturday and Sunday.
“They usually have a pretty good pitching staff and they tend to play a lot of small-ball with bunting and stealing,” Verbrugges said. “We’ve got to keep them honest on first base and be prepared to make plays in the field.”