If there's one thing to be taken from this weekend's action for the Hillsdale College baseball team, it's that this year's young Chargers squad may be coming of age faster than anyone thought possible.

After stunning #5 University of Indianapolis in an 18-10 victory to hand the two-time defending Midwest Region champion Greyhounds their first loss of the season on Sunday, the Chargers returned to action at Grand Park in Indianapolis and proved that victory was no fluke with a dominant 20-7 victory over UIndy to split a four-game set.

Hillsdale's bats lit up the heavily-favored Greyhounds, as the Chargers pounded out 22 hits and put up three crooked numbers to end the game early after eight innings. The Chargers offense was firing on all cylinders from the very start of the game, as Hillsdale jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning on four hits, including a RBI single by Augie Hutchison, a two-run single by Will Lehman, and a two-run double by Kaden Nowak.

Despite that hot start at the plate for the Chargers, UIndy appeared to stabilize and battled back, pulling ahead 6-5 with five runs in the bottom of the third, and adding another run in the bottom of the fourth. 

Just when it seemed like the favored Greyhounds had reestablished control, Hillsdale exploded offensively. The Chargers cut into the UIndy lead with a RBI single by Will Millard in the top of the fifth, and Hillsdale pulled ahead for good in the top of the sixth. A leadoff triple by Gaard Swenson led to four Chargers runs, including RBI singles by Nowak, Rocco Tenuta and Zak Kent.

The Chargers led 11-7 entering the top of the eighth, and shut the door on any notion of a UIndy comeback by exploding for nine runs on seven hits. Freshman Tyler Sowers hit a grand slam, his second home run of the weekend, along with a two-run double from Millard and a RBI single by Nowak. Lehman hit a RBI double early in the inning as the Chargers' third batter, then came back up later in the inning and added another RBI double to cap the run. Hillsdale exited the inning with a 13-run lead, up 20-7, and Logan McLaughlin pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth to finish off the victory.

All nine spots in Hillsdale's lineup contributed at least one hit and scored at least one run for the Chargers in one of Hillsdale's most impressive offensive performances in a while, with 22 hits the most in a single game by a Chargers' squad since Hillsdale had 22 in a 17-5 victory over Ohio Valley on April 12, 2019.

Swenson went 4 for 6 with a triple to lead the Chargers at the plate, Sowers was 3 for 5 with four RBIs and the Grand Slam, Hutchison went 3 for 6 with a triple and a RBI, Lehman was 3 for 6 with two doubles and four RBIs, and Nowak finished 3 for 4 with a double and four RBIs. Kent and Millard each finished with two hits as well for the Chargers, and Swenson and Sowers each stole two bases as well.

Hayden Hoffpauir earned the win in relief for Hillsdale, striking out three, walking none and giving up just one hit and no runs in three innings of work. McLaughlin also struck out three in two innings of relief for the Chargers, and Jacob Pallo pitched three innings as the starter with a strikeout and four walks.

Hillsdale, now 2-5 on the season, has momentum after scoring a combined 38 runs in the last two games against a top-10 team and one of the favorites to win the Midwest Region. The Chargers will get another crack at a top-10 squad this coming weekend, with two contests against #8 Indiana of Pennsylvania on Friday and Saturday in Morgantown, and a single game against Lock Haven on Sunday to finish the weekend.

Photo by Steve George