Game 3 box score: ODU 9, HC 5

Game 4 box score: HC 12, ODU 8

As Sunday afternoon moved along, the bats belonging to the Hillsdale College baseball team started to come to life.

Late in Sunday's first game against Ohio Dominican, the Chargers faced an 8-0 deficit. Although Hillsdale lost that game 9-5, scoring five runs in the final two innings seemed to give life and confidence to the hitters, factors that carried over into the team's 12-8 win over the Panthers in the second game of the GLIAC doubleheader.

After the Sunday split, Hillsdale is now 11-23 overall and 6-12 in the GLIAC. The Chargers next take the field Wednesday afternoon in Findlay for a doubleheader against the Oilers starting at 2:00.

In game 1, the Panthers did a superb job of advancing baserunners by many different means in building their huge lead. ODu led 6-0 before Hillsdale notched its first hit of the game.

Junior Chris McDonald got the team on the board with a two-run home run, just the first of what would end up being an incredible offensive performance in this twinbill.

McDonald had 8 RBI combined in the two games, belted two home runs, a double and a triple. Just an amazing performance from a player who has taken a big step forward in 2015. He was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI in game 1, while Tad Sobieszczanski scored twice and was 2-for-4 in the game 1 loss.

ODU jumped out to a 4-0 lead through 1 1/2 innings of game 2. McDonald hit his second home run of the day in the second inning, while Luke Ortel followed with a solo shot of his own in the third to stir the offense some more.

The big breakthrough came in the fourth inning when Hillsdale flipped the lead and momentum of the contest. The Chargers scored five runs to take a 7-6 lead. Four of those runs came across with two outs. Junior Connor Bartlett sliced a bases-loaded single through the right side to score two runs in the frame. The Chargers added three valuable insurance runs in the seventh, two coming off a McDonald single.

In the nightcap, McDonald went 4-for-5 with 2 runs scored and 4 more RBI. Bartlett and Sobieszczanski each drove in two runs while Ortel went 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored.

Freshman pitcher Will Kruse picked up his first collegiate win, surviving a difficult first inning, grinding out five full innings to get the win. McDonald was clutch in a relief appearance on the mound, going three innings with two hits and one run allowed. Dan Pochmara slammed the door shut in the seventh.

Photo by Jenny Bals