The Charger baseball team won three straight games last week to improve to 5-5 overall as freshman Will Lehman earned Great Midwest Athletic Conference North Division Baseball Player of the Week.
The Chargers started the weekend on the road with a 5-4 win over the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks. Hitting highlights for the Chargers included a triple and two RBIs from senior Zak Kent. The Chargers had some success against the Crimson Hawk defense, tallying seven hits in total, but senior left-handed pitcher Drew Erdei said his teammates on the mound played a big part in the undefeated weekend.
“Our pitching staff had its best weekend yet,” Erdei said. “We attacked the strike zone and trusted our defense to make plays, which they did.”
Friday’s win for the Chargers goes down as a win for senior right-handed pitcher Andrew George, who gave up no runs and no hits through 1.1 innings. Much of the job on Friday’s game fell to sophomore Daniel Higdon, who closed out the win for the Chargers.
On Saturday, Hillsdale beat IUP on the road 5-3. The bats came alive as the Chargers racked up 11 hits. Freshman Will Lehman notched two RBIs and a double in his campaign and freshman Gaard Swenson put a pitch over the wall for the first home run of the weekend. Swenson and sophomore Rocco Tenuta each had an RBI, and freshman right-handed pitcher Cary Gibson recorded his first win for the Chargers.
The Chargers won on the road again on Sunday, this time over the Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Bald Eagles. Down 5-1 after the fourth inning, a nine run surge in the fifth inning gave the Chargers a considerable lead. The game stood at a stalemate from the sixth inning onward. The Bald Eagles put up one more run in the ninth, but the Chargers took the game 10-6.
“Will Lehman, especially, had an incredible week for a freshman. He came through with a go-ahead double in the 9th inning to secure a win and also hit a huge 3-run home run,” associate head coach Ryan Van Amburg said. “Everything he hit was loud, which is really encouraging. It was great to see him named Conference Hitter of the Week.”
Lehman led the Chargers on Sunday with three hits and four RBIs, including the three run homerun that sparked the fifth inning success for the Chargers. From Monday to Sunday Lehman went 9-18 . According to a press release from the Hillsdale Chargers Athletics website, Lehman has started all ten games this season, hitting .381 and leading the team with 15 RBIs.
Senior John Hunter said with this past weekend under their belt, the team feels confident moving forward.
“These were great games from start to finish. I think we really showed some resilience this weekend,” Hunter said. “This is the best we’ve looked all year.”
The Chargers will play Emporia State University and #25 Maryville University twice each this weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. On March 12 they play Saginaw Valley State University at home and they round out spring break with a four game series against Malone University on March 15 and 16 in Canton, Ohio.
