After two shocking upsets over nationally ranked Davenport on Friday night, the Hillsdale College baseball team found themselves on the wrong end of the score line for the first time this season in the series finale on Saturday.
The Panthers jumped on Hillsdale early with a run in the top of the first and four runs, including a three run home run, in the top of the third, and never looked back as the Chargers fell 16-4 in a game played at the Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
Hillsdale didn't lay down for Davenport after the early blow, getting two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the third with its hottest hitter so far this season, sophomore Lewis Beals, at the plate. Beals delivered again with a two-run single to right field that scored Aidan Brewer and Danny Passinault to cut the Chargers' deficit to 5-2.
But that was as close as Hillsdale would get from there, as a powerhouse Panther offense that ran out of steam on Friday night took control, tacking on two or more runs in four of the final six innings to pull away. The Chargers struggled to muster an answer at the plate, finishing with just six hits in the game. Hillsdale was able to string together two more runs in the bottom of the ninth, as freshman Kaden Nowak scored on a Davenport error and freshman John Hunter drew a bases-loaded walk that scored sophomore Evan Fauquher, but at that point it was too late for the Chargers to mount a comeback.
Nowak and Fauquher each recorded a hit for the Chargers in the loss, as did Jaekob Sallee, Steven Strachan III and Tyler Harris.
Paul Brophy took the loss on the mound for the Chargers in his first career start, going three and one-third innings with two strikeouts and two walks. Devin Murray, Zane Barnhart, Dillon Manion and Brandon Scott all appeared in relief for Hillsdale.
While the Chargers couldn't complete the 3-0 weekend, finishing 2-1 against a team ranked as high as 15th in the country at the NCAA Division II level is still an impressive start for a Hillsdale team that's looking to surprise opponents in the G-MAC and in the Midwest Region this season. The Chargers will get another opportunity to earn quality wins next weekend as it faces off against Northwood, a NCAA Tournament qualifier in 2021, for a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday at the TVA Bank Stadium in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop