Senior Jaekob Sallee scored five runs over the weekend. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department

Hillsdale College beat Findlay University on March 17 after losing the three previous games in their opening G-MAC series. The team played in their home stadium for the first time. 

“The whole team had big smiles on their faces when we took the field for the first time,” senior Danny Passinault said. “We’ve been waiting for that field for a while.”

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Hillsdale trailed the Oilers 9-8. They loaded the bases, and Passinault hit a fly that tied the game 9-9. 

Senior Nate Waligora batted for Hillsdale, scoring a run and bringing the game to 10-9.

Freshman Aaron Jasiak pitched relief for the Chargers for the first time, striking out two of the four batters and preventing Findlay from scoring.

Passinault said it felt good to win after the previous losses. 

“We have a lot of things to improve but we are getting better every weekend,” Passinault said.

Sophomore John Hunter agreed. 

“Losing was obviously upsetting, especially dropping two on the first day but Findlay was a talented team that could hit the ball to all parts of the field in any count and didn’t chase pitches very often,” Hunter said.

The Chargers said they loved finally playing on home turf. 

“Obviously we loved being on the new field but having a packed stadium for both days brought even more energy to the games,” Hunter said. 

Despite the rain and snow over the weekend, the team was able to play on the field, Passinault said. 

“At night the lights all went on, and it worked great,” Passinault said. “We’ve been waiting a while for this.”

According to players, the team has been practicing at the Hillsdale High School baseball field and is thrilled to move to the new stadium. 

The team will continue to practice for the G-MAC on the new field. 

“We have a lot of young guys that are getting experience and are getting better and better with every outing and at bat and they have a lot of support from veteran guys that have been here,” Hunter said.

Hillsdale has five wins and 12 losses overall, with one win and three losses in their conference. This weekend, they will play four games in a home conference series against Tiffin University, starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 22.

 “We are right on the edge of being an elite team, and I won’t be surprised if we take four from Tiffin this weekend,” Hunter said.