Trailing by two runs with just two outs to work with in the top of the ninth inning, the Hillsdale College baseball team refused to be beaten in the series opener at Lincoln Memorial on Friday.
The Charger bats caught fire at just the right time, as Hillsdale plated six runs in the final inning to turn a 7-5 deficit into an 11-7 lead, then worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth to secure an impressive come-from-behind victory.
Rocco Tenuta's leadoff double in the ninth helped give Hillsdale life, and
Jake Figman tied the game with a double to left field.
With Hillsdale no longer trailing, the Chargers took full advantage of a costly Lincoln Memorial error that extended the inning.
Logan Dichler drove in two more runs with a double to left field for Hillsdale,
Aaron Jasiak tacked on a RBI single, and
Gaard Swenson finished the scoring with a RBI double of his own in three straight at-bats.
Protecting the lead,
Josh Novak worked a scoreless ninth for the Chargers, battling back from a leadoff walk to induce two flyouts and a groundout and seal the victory.
Hillsdale led early on a RBI double by freshman
Nolan Coppens in the top of the first and a RBI single by
Gaard Swenson in the top of the second, but the Railsplitters tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning and exploded with five runs in the bottom of the fifth to seize control of the contest.
The Chargers kept battling, getting a run back in the sixth and scoring two critical runs in the top of the eighth on a RBI double by
Billy Porotsky and a RBI single by
Aaron Jasiak to set up the dramatic ninth inning.
Brenden Smith picked up the win for the Chargers in an impressive relief effort, going three and two-thirds innings with six strikes and no runs conceded to stabilize Hillsdale after Lincoln Memorial's big fifth inning and give the Chargers a chance to rally. Starter
Jacob Pallo pitched four and a third innings as well for Hillsdale.
The Chargers had another strong day at the plate, with 16 hits, nine of them doubles.
Aaron Jasiak led the way for Hillsdale with a 4 for 5 day for two RBIs, a double and a stolen base, and
Gaard Swenson went 3 for 6 with two RBIs, a double and a stolen base as well.
Rocco Tenuta and
Jake Figman each chipped in two doubles as well for the Chargers, and
Nolan Coppens and
Billy Porotsky each added a single and a double as well.
The come-from-behind victory helps Hillsdale improve to 2-2 overall. The Chargers will see Lincoln Memorial again in game two of the series at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and will wrap up the weekend with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.
