The Malone University baseball team opened the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) portion of its schedule on Saturday afternoon by tallying a 1-1 record in a home doubleheader against Hillsdale (MI) College.

The Pioneers (9-8 overall, 1-1 GLIAC) pocketed a 7-4 victory in game one before the Chargers (5-12 overall, 1-1 GLIAC) rallied for a 4-2 triumph in the finale.

Malone and Hillsdale wrap up the four-game series on Sunday at Thurman Munson Stadium with another doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m.

Game One Recap
After Hillsdale grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first inning, Malone struck back in the bottom half of the frame.  Third baseman Jon Crank brought home the Pioneers' first run with a single to right.  Right fielder Matt Wheeler later lifted a bloop double to shallow right field for the second run of the inning before first baseman Chad Neff stepped to the plate and lined a two-out, two-run single to right to make the score 4-1.

Three consecutive walks followed by a Malone error allowed the Chargers to cut the deficit to 4-2 in the top of the second inning.  However, the Pioneers answered in the bottom of the second as catcher Hayden Mobley drilled a two-out, two-run double to the gap in left-centerfield to increase Malone's lead to 6-2.

The Pioneers tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Crank came through with another RBI single to right.  Hillsdale brought home a pair of runs in the top half of the sixth inning, but it was not enough to close the gap.

Right-hander Joe Costello started on the mound for Malone and earned his second win of the season (2-1) after tossing the first six innings, surrendering four runs (three earned) on six hits.  Reliever Mike Shori then registered a scoreless top of the seventh, earning his first career save.

The Pioneers recorded eight hits, led by Crank and Wheeler who each went 2-for-3.

Game Two Recap
Malone brought home an unearned run in the bottom of the second inning to grab an early lead in the finale.  The score remained at 1-0 until the sixth when Neff chased home Wheeler from third on an infield single.

The Chargers then rallied to take the lead in the seventh, plating three runs with the help of four singles and a hit by pitch.

Hilldale tacked on another score in the top of the eighth when pinch runner Vinny Delicata slid in just ahead of the tag on a sacrifice fly to right.

The Pioneers brought the tying run to the plate in the both the eighth and ninth, but were unable to manufacture any additional runs.

Charger starting pitcher Lucas Hamelink picked up the win (2-2) after tossing the first eight innings.  Reliever Dan Pochmara notched his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth.

Malone's Matt Litty worked the first 6.1 innings and was saddled with the loss (1-2) after surrendering three runs on six hits.

Neff paced the Pioneer offense, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.