With three “unofficial” victories in this weekend’s exhibition games, the Hillsdale College baseball team is off to a solid start.
“We counted them as exhibition games so there weren’t any official scores,” head coach Eric Theisen said. “The weekend went well though. We won game one in regulation and game two was an extra-inning game that we won in 12 innings. And then Sunday was a come-from-behind, walk-off win.”
Saturday’s two wins came over Milligan University in 30-degree temperatures.
“It was freezing. It was like 30 degrees on Saturday and we were out there for 10 hours,” Theisen said. “But we were really happy with our pitching. Offensively we did a pretty good job and defensively we were pretty solid, outside of a couple mistakes we made that were mostly a result of not being able to practice those things since the fall.”
The Chargers not only overcame the cold weather, but also a two-run deficit in the ninth inning against Concordia University on Sunday. Senior infielder Rob Zurawski said it was great to finally be competing against another team.
“It was nice to be back out and play another team,” Zurawski said. “We’ve been facing our own pitchers since January. It may have not meant anything statistically but it was a confidence boost and fun for sure. It’s a more enjoyable way to play the game.”
Next on the schedule is a four-game series against Maryville College in St. Louis, Missouri.
“These are all regular-season games from here on out,” Theisen said. “Because the pitcher-hitter matchup is the bulk of what makes up the game, it’s constantly different. It’s hard to get an idea which team is the better team without playing at least three games because the pitching is so different.”
The Chargers are confident in their pitching staff this season, which should make them a tough team to beat.
“I’m looking forward to watching our guys pitch again,” Zurawski said. “It’s been awhile since we’ve had really good pitchers. Last weekend we had six or seven guys pitch really, really well and I’m hoping they continue to produce in games that mean a little bit more.”
