The Hillsdale Chargers baseball team won three of its four games against the Ohio Dominican University Panthers in Columbus, Ohio, during this past weekend’s doubleheader series.
During the first game on Saturday, the Chargers secured the win by scoring three runs in the sixth inning after trailing the Panthers 5-4 for two innings. The closing pitcher, sophomore Logan McLaughlin, pitched the ninth inning with two strikeouts and no runs, securing the win for the Chargers. The nightcap on Saturday saw the Panthers emerge with a 10-2 lead by the end of the third inning. Hillsdale worked to come back, scoring twice in the fourth inning but lost the game in seven innings 10-4.
According to coach Ryan Van Amburg, senior Zak Kent had a standout weekend. In the first two games on Saturday, Kent had six RBIs in his nine appearances at bat. His strength continued to show during the doubleheader on Sunday that Hillsdale swept.
“Last week we put a lot of emphasis on getting jobs done, so I just tried to keep everything simple and do that,” Kent said.
On Sunday, the Chargers won both games, starting the day with ODU scoring two runs to tie the game at 3-3 at the end of the seventh inning, forcing an extra inning. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Tuner brought in ghost runner freshman Gaard Swenson for the first run of the eighth inning, after which Hillsdale scored five more runs, including a two-run double by freshman Billy Porotsky, a two-run single by sophomore Rocco Tenuta, and an RBI single by Kent to finish the game 9-5.
Van Amburg said the beginning of the first game on Sunday was tough, but the pieces fell into place as time went on.
“Jacob Pallo and Aaron Jasiak did an excellent job on the mound, keeping us in the game. In extra innings, the goal is to score at least two runs, doing whatever it takes,” Van Amburg said. “We demonstrated that when Turner came in and executed a huge squeeze play, not only giving us the lead but also sparking the offense. After that big play, we followed up with five hits and scored six runs, leading us to a victory.”
After securing the first win of the day, the Chargers put up nine runs in the first two innings of the second day. Senior Augie Hutchison got two RBI singles for Hillsdale in the win, Kent hit a two-run single, and Turner and freshman Will Lehman each got an RBI single as well. Hutchison had a strong weekend, with four RBIs, four hits, and three runs during his 12 at bats.
According to Hutchison, the improvement from Saturday to Sunday stemmed from the team’s dedication to both sides of the game, offense and defense.
“Our team plays well when we limit free bags defensively and play aggressively on offense,” Hutchinson said. “Defensively, our pitchers were able to pitch efficiently and limited walks on Sunday. Offensively, we just wanted to put the ball in play as much as possible and force the other team to make plays.”
The Chargers will play four games at home this Saturday and Sunday against Thomas More University at 1 pm and 4 pm both days.
