Schedule
#22 Grand Valley State (23-9, 7-5 GLIAC) at Hillsdale College (17-15, 10-6 G-MAC) | 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 9 | Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field – Hillsdale, MI
Hillsdale College (17-15, 10-6 G-MAC) at Findlay (15-15, 7-7 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, April 12 | Fifth Third Field – Findlay, OH
Hillsdale College (17-15, 10-6 G-MAC) at Findlay (15-15, 7-7 G-MAC) | 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, April 12 | Fifth Third Field – Findlay, OH
Hillsdale College (17-15, 10-6 G-MAC) at Findlay (15-15, 7-7 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Sunday, April 13 | Fifth Third Field – Findlay, OH
Hillsdale College (17-15, 10-6 G-MAC) at Findlay (15-15, 7-7 G-MAC) | 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday, April 13 | Fifth Third Field – Findlay, OH
 
Links
Live Stats/Stream Links | Hillsdale Roster | GVSU Roster | Findlay Roster | Hillsdale Stats | GVSU Stats | Findlay Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Preview
Hillsdale is coming off a big home weekend where the Chargers took three from Lake Erie, leapfrogging the Storm in the standings and moving into third place in the G-MAC. The Chargers now hit the road looking to stay on track against a dangerous Findlay squad in a rivalry series this weekend, but first Hillsdale battles nationally-ranked Grand Valley State in a home mid-week contest on Wednesday.

GVSU is currently the second-best team in the Midwest Region in the national ranking at 22^nd in the ABCA Poll, and is looking to build momentum after a 7-5 start to GLIAC play has them with significant ground to make up against the current leaders. The Lakers return three All-Region and six All-GLIAC honorees from a 30-win squad that won the GLIAC Tourney title and made the NCAA DII Tournament last year.

The Lakers have performed well at the plate, hitting .306 as a team, led by returning All-Region first baseman Jonas Gulbrandsen, who leads the team in batting average (.358), OPS (1.071) and home runs (9) and has 36 RBIs. Outfielder Ryan Dykstra, also a returning All-Region honoree, leads the team in doubles with 12 and is hitting over .325, while Waterloo transfer Evan Morrison and JuCo transfer Jovan Gill have put up huge numbers as well. All told, GVSU has six lineup regulars batting over .320, including returning All-GLIAC honorees Ayden VanEnkevort, the brother of former Hillsdale College football player Logan VanEnkevort, and Brendan Guciardo.
 
GVSU also has been good on the mound, with four solid starters led by returner Colin Bradley and Northwood and Western Michigan transfer Jayden Dentler. GVSU likely will be saving its best arms for conference play on the weekend, meaning the Lakers could turn to another WMU transfer, Ethan Houghtaling, who has three starts on the year, bullpen arms Colby Phipps or Sebastian Talaga, who each have a start as well, or a staff game with their solid bullpen. GVSU's top bullpen arm is senior Will Goebel, with three saves in six appearances, but both Phipps and Talaga also see frequent action with effective appearances. GVSU backs their staff with a strong defense, holding a solid .965 fielding percentage through 32 games.

Findlay was one of the G-MAC favorites in the preseason, but have had a roller-coaster campaign so far to sit at .500 in league play, getting swept by Ashland this past weekend after sweeping Malone the weekend prior. They'll be looking to get back on track against the Chargers this weekend at home.

After graduating two first-team All-G-MAC hitters, Findlay has struggled at the plate so far this season, hitting a G-MAC worst .249 entering this weekend. Although that's held the Oilers back at times, Findlay has compensated with extra-base power, led by junior outfielder Casey Maruniak, who leads the team in batting average (.346), OPS (1.036), home runs (seven) and RBIs (27) in a strong performance. Sophomore Luke Senften and junior Keelan Daniel are each hitting above .300 with nine or more extra base hits and 18 or more RBIs for Findlay as well, with junior infielders Mike Scirotino and Nick Palm also playing an important role at the plate.

With consistent offense an issue, Findlay has leaned on its pitching staff, which returns three starters from 2024 in All-G-MAC honoree Logan Bragg, Carson Mellott, and Ethan Mohr. Sophomore Dylan Rouse is the new fourth starter for the Oilers, and while none of the four have been outstanding so far, they've all been solid and effective to keep Findlay in contention in most outings. The bullpen has been a huge part of Findlay's success this year, with freshman closer Camdon Tuttle putting up a 0.57 ERA and six saves in 12 appearances, and junior Colin Becker going 4-2 in 11 appearances in relief. Combined, Tuttle and Becker have played a role in 12 of Findlay's 15 wins. Sebastian Stevens and Connor Evanich are also frequently used bullpen arms for the Oilers. Findlay's defense also is an asset, with a respectable .963 fielding percentage so far.

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 on track to make a return to the G-MAC Tourney with four conference weekends remaining, but will need to keep winning to pull it off.

So far, the Chargers have been led at the plate by senior Zak Kent, who's having a breakout campaign in his final season with a team-leading .350 batting average, 12 extra base hits, and a Chagers-best 34 RBI. Past Kent, the Chargers are leaning on youth offensively, with three freshmen performing well as every-day players. Outfielder Tyler Sowers is off to an excellent start, hitting .350 with 14 extra base hits, first baseman Will Lehman has 31 RBIs and won a G-MAC Player of the Week Award, and Gaard Swenson has 14 extra base hits and a walk-off home run as well. Along with those four players, sophomore Rocco Tenuta (.291, 31 RBIs, team best .448 OBP and four home runs) continues to produce 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 3.53 ERA and three wins, and can also turn to veteran Brandon Scott, who has been the starting pitcher in two shutouts this season and has four wins, 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 a solid defense, with a .967 fielding percentage that leads the G-MAC currently.

GVSU has dominated the series with Hillsdale, with a 23-8 record against Hillsdale since 2012 when both teams were members of the GLIAC, but the Chargers won both meetings last season and enter Wednesday's contest on a winning streak over the Lakers for the first time in multiple decades. Hillsdale has a 23-19 edge over Findlay since 2012 in a long-running series dating back to both teams' shared time in the GLIAC prior to joining the G-MAC. The last time the two teams met, last season, Findlay took three of four games from the Chargers in Hillsdale.