The Hillsdale College baseball team turned its opening day doubleheader, and the first two games of new head coach Tom Vessella's career, into a bold statement on Friday.
Heavy underdogs in two neutral site contests against Davenport, ranked in the top 20 in the country in both NCAA Division II preseason polls, the Chargers didn't look like the underdogs, playing fearlessly and putting up big numbers offensively against the Panther pitching staff in 15-14 and 13-4 victories at the Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
The first contest was a back-and-forth thriller with both teams having notable success at the plate. Trailing 14-11 in the bottom of the ninth, Hillsdale was down to its final two outs when it staged a three-run rally to tie the game and force extra innings. Sophomores Jaekob Sallee and Danny Passinault each hit an RBI single as a part of the comeback.
A leadoff double by sophomore Lewis Beals to start the 10th inning put the go-ahead run in scoring position for the Chargers, and Beals took advantage of two wild pitches by the Panthers to score the game-winning run.
While Hillsdale's offense came through in the end to give the Chargers a season-opening victory, senior reliever James Krick was also critical. Krick pitched a scoreless 9th and 10th inning, striking out three and allowing just two baserunners to quiet what had been a red-hot Davenport offense at the perfect time and earn the fourth pitching victory of his five-year career at Hillsdale.
Beals not only scored the winning run for Hillsdale but was the Chargers' best hitter in the game, going 4 for 6 with two doubles, a stolen base and a RBI single in the second inning. Steven Strachan III chipped in a single, a double and a RBI, and Cody Kanclerz and Sallee each added two hits.
Joe Hardenbergh gave the Chargers an early lead with a two-run single in the top of the first, Jeff Landis chipped in a RBI double, and Aidan Brewer added a single, drove in two runs, and stole two bases, including a rare steal of home plate to score a run in the fifth inning.
Redshirt freshman Tommy MacLean got the start for the Chargers, the first of his career, going three and two thirds innings with a strikeout and three walks, and Logan Simon, Nate Waligora, Drew Erdei and Marc Bergeron all pitched in relief as well for Hillsdale.
While the first game was close to the end, the nightcap was never in doubt, as the Chargers jumped on Davenport with a five-run bottom of the first inning and never let the Panthers get any closer than that. Hardenbergh, who went 3 for 5 on the night, hit a three-run home run in that inning to help blow the game open, and Nick Stepke added a two-run double as well.
On the mound, Will Gifford pitched a dominant six innings in just the second start of his career, striking out 12 of the 23 batters he faced, walking none, and giving up just three hits and one run in a career-best performance. Caleb Biedenharn and Brendan Pochmara pitched the final three innings of relief, combining to strike out three, walk three and give up four hits and three earned runs.
Beals continued a hot start to the season for the CHargers, going 3 for 5 with two RBIs, Landis went 2 for 4 with a solo home run, and Brewer chipped in a RBI single as well.
Now 2-0 overall, the Chargers end the three game series with Davenport tomorrow at 1 p.m., looking to complete an impressive sweep of one of the top teams in the Midwest Region with a third-straight victory.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop