Baseball splits opening games

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Hillsdale College baseball split their first two games of the season last weekend, nabbing rookie head coach Eric Theisen his first win.

The Chargers (1-1) defeated Davis & Elkins College, 3-2, in the season opener before dropping the double-header’s second game, 6-1. The Chargers’ two Sunday games were cancelled on account of a winter storm.

The first game was close throughout.

Sophomore Tad Sobieszczanski put the Chargers on the scoreboard first. He launched a triple in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore Luke Ortel scored the run.

Junior Sean Bennett then hit a sacrifice grounder to Davis & Elkins’ shortstop, allowing Sobieszczanski to cross home.

Davis & Elkins responded with two runs of their own in the third inning: one off a wild pitch and the other off an RBI single.

The score tied, 2-2, freshman Jake Lee batted in what would be the game’s winning run in the fifth inning.

The Chargers were in position for more runs but Davis & Elkins forced a double play to end the inning. Double plays abounded in Saturday’s first game: Each team completed three.

Davis & Elkins threatened to steal the game in the seventh inning. But with one out and runners on first and second, closer junior Dan Pochmara struck out Davis & Elkins’ final two batters back-to-back.

Although they only scored three runs, the Chargers swung well in their win. They hit eight for a collective .348 average.

They were able to keep pace with hits in the second game – they hit five compared to Davis & Elkins’ six – but failed to turn them into runs.

It was close for most of the game. Ortel singled in the first, driving in junior Vinny Delicata. Davis & Elkins scored one run in each of the next two innings.

The score sat at 2-1 until the sixth. Davis & Elkins opened up the game with a pair of double RBI’s. Hillsdale put two runners on base in the seventh, but Delicata grounded into a double play, ending the game.

While they were able to adjust their batting to the first game’s pitcher, Theisen said Hillsdale failed to identify Davis & Elkins’ pitching strategy until late in the second game.

“We need to figure pitchers out the second time through the order, not the third,” Theisen said.

Junior Shane Armstrong (1-0) got the first game’s win. Senior Matthew Reck (0-1) got the second game’s loss.

Theisen praised the team’s batting, base-running, and defense. The bullpen will be looking to improve their strike percentages in the coming weeks. Additionally, the team committed four errors in the second game, which Theisen attributed to rushed play and said was addressed at practice.

The team will head south on Friday for a slew of games over spring break. They’ll play 12 total between March 8 and March 15.

Theisen said the heavy load of games will open up play-time opportunities across the roster.