Schedule
Hillsdale College (8-11, 2-2 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (7-12, 1-3 G-MAC) | 12 p.m. ET Saturday, March 22 | Frank Damian Field at Panther Valley – Columbus, OH
Hillsdale College (8-11, 2-2 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (7-12, 1-3 G-MAC) | 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, March 22 | Frank Damian Field at Panther Valley – Columbus, OH
Hillsdale College (8-11, 2-2 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (7-12, 1-3 G-MAC) | 12 p.m. ET Sunday, March 23 | Frank Damian Field at Panther Valley – Columbus, OH
Hillsdale College (8-11, 2-2 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (7-12, 1-3 G-MAC) | 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, March 23 | Frank Damian Field at Panther Valley – Columbus, OH
 
Links
Live Stats/Stream Links | Hillsdale Roster | ODU Roster | Hillsdale Stats | ODU Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Preview
Hillsdale finished a hard-fought road split at Malone last weekend with an offensive explosion in a 10-0 victory on Sunday, and will look to carry that momentum at the plate into another critical road series at Ohio Dominican this weekend.

Ohio Dominican took just one of four games against Tiffin in its conference opener this past weekend, in a series where the Panthers proved they are a dangerous offensive team, but gave up 47 combined runs. Explosive offensive performances and high scoring games have been a theme for ODU this year, as the Panthers' offense is ahead of its defense and pitching so far.

ODU lost two All-G-MAC hitters from last year's squad but returned a major contributor in one-time Cincinnati transfer CJ Dean, who leads the Panthers with seven home runs and 24 RBIs this season. Another DI transfer off to a strong start is former Ohio State player Gianni Passarelli, who's hitting .302 and just behind Dean in home runs and RBIs. Two more transfers, Peter Jelenic from Oakland and Jacob Adams from Kentucky Wesleyan, are also important bats with double-digit RBIs so far for ODU, which has plenty of firepower to battle opponents in shootouts.

While the offense has been lights out, pitching has been a roller-coaster for the Panthers so far. ODU has one reliable starter developing into a bona fide ace in sophomore Trace Mercer, who has a 2.33 ERA in five starts, and freshman Landon Ringhiser also has had decent starting performances. ODU will look for more from starters Steven Chapman, Chase Hunt and Chris Bartholomew, all of who have ERAs of 9.95 or worse so far and are a combined 1-6 on the season. Jared Hoersten and Jeremy Ramirez are the top bullpen arms for the Panthers, with Jaxson Stried also seeing a lot of action for ODU. With a .950 fielding percentage, ODU's defensive play has been acceptable so far, with room for improvement as the season progresses.

Hillsdale enters the week 8-11 after playing a rugged non-conference schedule that included five teams receiving votes in the preseason polls and a hard-fought first series at Malone. After narrowly missing the G-MAC Tournament in 2024, Hillsdale bid farewell to a massive senior class and 16 total players, while adding 15 new freshmen to the roster in a turnover that will reshape the program heading into the upcoming campaign.

So far, the Chargers are leaning on youth offensively, with three freshmen leading the way in OPS. Outfielder Tyler Sowers is off to an excellent start, hitting .371 with 10 extra base hits, first baseman Will Lehman has 17 RBIs and won a G-MAC Player of the Week Award, and Gaard Swenson has nine extra base hits and a walk-off home run as well. Along with those three players, returning starters Zak Kent (.338, 19 RBIs) and Rocco Tenuta (.297, 21 RBIs) are also off to solid starts at the plate as Hillsdale has shown excellent upside offensively and now seeks to build consistency for the conference run.

On the mound, Hillsdale has a solid ace in sophomore Daniel Higdon, who's got a 3.60 ERA and kept Hillsdale in every one of his starts, and can also turn to veteran Brandon Scott, who shut out Malone on Sunday, for solid outings as well. Sophomore Jacob Pallo has been improving each week and looks set as the third starter, and freshman Gibson Cary has emerged as another starting option for the Chargers along with Aaron Jasiak. Out of the bullpen, Logan McLaughlin, Hayden Hoffpauir and Andrew George all have had strong appearances, while sophomore Winston Delp and junior Patrick MacLean have steadily improved and become important pieces out of the bullpen as well. Hillsdale's staff is backed up by the G-MAC's top defense, with a league-best .970 fielding percentage so far.

Although Hillsdale shares a conference with Ohio Dominican, the fact that the two teams are in opposite divisions of the G-MAC along with scheduling quirks means this is the first time the two programs have met on the diamond since 2021, four years ago, when the two teams split a four game series and the Chargers then won a 7-2 G-MAC Tournament game over the Panthers. Hillsdale is 11-20 all-time against ODU dating back to the time the two teams' shared membership in the GLIAC prior to joining the G-MAC in 2017.