SUNDAY RECAP

Game 3 box score: Malone 3, HC 1

Game 4 box score: Malone 5, HC 1

Malone University pitching held the Chargers to a total of 2 runs and 5 hits in 16 innings of play in Canton, Ohio Sunday afternoon.

The Pioneers took both ends of their doubleheader with Hillsdale, 3-1 and 5-1. The Chargers are now 5-14 overall and 1-3 in the GLIAC. Hillsdale is scheduled to play its home opener this Wednesday in a single, 9-inning game against Albion College.

The losses spoiled a pair of excellent starting pitching performances by two of Hillsdale's freshmen, Will Kruse in game 3, and Phil Carey in game 4. Kruse tossed all six innings in Sunday's opener, allowing just five hits while striking out six and yielding two earned runs.

Senior Nolan Breymaier went 2-for-3 in the first game Sunday for Hillsdale.

In the series finale, Carey fanned three and didn't walk a batter in 5.1 innings on the mound. Breymaier had one of the two Charger hits in the game and drove in the team's only run.

SATURDAY RECAP

Game 1 box score: Malone 7, HC 4

Game 2 box score: HC 4, Malone 2

Some clutch hitting and shut-down pitching helped the Charger baseball team to a split of their first conference games of the 2015 season Saturday afternoon.

Junior pitcher Lucas Hamelink tossed eight strong innings and Dan Pochmara recorded his first save of the season and 17th of his career in a 4-2 Hillsdale College win over Malone University in Canton, Ohio. The Pioneers won game 1 of the 4-game weekend series 7-4. Hillsdale is 5-12 overall and 1-1 in GLIAC play after Saturday's games.

Down 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning, the Hillsdale bats came alive, starting with junior Connor Bartlett's infield single. After he stole second base, he scored on a single by sophomore Ethan Wiskur, putting the Chargers on the board. Pinch runner Alex Walts used his speed to get to second on a wild pitch, which enabled him to score the tying run after Chris McDonald singled.

Sophomore Eric Shankin drove in the game-winning run two batters later.

Bartlett and McDonald each went 2-for-3 to lead the Hillsdale offense. Wiskur and Shankin each had a hit and an RBI.

Hamelink was very efficient in the win, notching five strikeouts with no walks and six hits allowed in his eight innings of work. Pochmara fanned two of the four batters he faced for the save.

In game 1, Bartlett drove in three of Hillsdale's four runs. The Pioneers scored four runs in the first and two more in the second to build an early 6-2 lead. Seven players each had a hit in the loss for the Chargers. Senior pitcher Shane Armstrong struck out a season-high nine batters in the opener.