Schedule
Hillsdale College (3-7) at Missouri-St. Louis (4-8) | 3 p.m. ET Friday, Mar. 6 | UMSL Baseball Field – St. Louis, MO
Hillsdale College (3-7) at Missouri-St. Louis (4-8) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Mar. 7 | UMSL Baseball Field – St. Louis, MO
Hillsdale College (3-7) at Missouri-St. Louis (4-8) | 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Mar. 8 | UMSL Baseball Field – St. Louis, MO
 
Links
Hillsdale Roster | UMSL Roster | Hillsdale Stats | UMSL Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Preview
After a tough series against the top team in the Midwest Region and one of the top teams in the nation last weekend, Hillsdale travels to St. Louis this weekend looking to regroup against the University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons in a three game set.

UMSL has had a winning record each of the last two seasons, and is looking to make it three years in a row despite a slow start at 4-8 through the first month of the season. The Tritons have played the bulk of their games against foes from the rugged Central Region so far, but are also 1-3 against GLVC opponents as well.

UMSL's offense has been inconsistent so far, scoring two or less runs in half its games to date, though it's also had moments of brilliance with four games of 10 or more runs. The Tritons return a few starters from last season, including outfielders Cooper Blythe and Cade Grevengoed and third baseman Justin Simard. UMSL's top hitter so far has been senior first baseman Mitch Bonczkowski, who's hitting .383 with three home runs and 11 RBIs, while sophomore Ayden Cline also has 11 RBIs and freshman Justin Terhaar has debuted with a cool .400 batting average at the plate as well.

On the mound, UMSL returns honorable mention All-GLVC starter Bryce Nicolay to give experience to the rotation. The Tritons' top starter so far has been Eastern Illinois transfer Eli Cartwright, who is 1-1 in three starts but has a sterling 1.15 ERA. Stetson transfer Will O'Gorman has been solid so far in three starts as well for UMSL. Freshman Matt Devoy and veteran Bryce Stenzel have been the team's most-used relievers, while Trey Schneider and Gavin Kinworthy also are reliable bullpen arms.
 
On the other side, Hillsdale must regroup after getting swept by nationally ranked Grand Valley in a four-game series this past weekend. While the Lakers are an excellent squad, there's no denying the Chargers will need to be better on the mound and at the plate to accomplish their goals for the season.
After struggling with health in each of the last two seasons, the Chargers are hoping to receive in full the dividends of a youth movement in 2024 and 2025 that saw freshmen and sophomores thrown into critical everyday roles in the lineup.
Many of those players are now juniors with multiple seasons of collegiate baseball under their belt, giving Hillsdale a strong and experienced core to build around in 2026.

Five starters return, including all four infield players, led by returning second-team All-G-MAC second baseman Billy Porotsky, and third-year starters Rocco Tenuta at third base and Aaron Jasiak at shortstop. All three players were major contributors offensively, and to one of the best defenses in program history in 2025, along with returning sophomore first baseman Will Lehman, who tied for the team lead in doubles with 12 and finished second on the squad with 40 RBIs.

In the outfield, Gaard Swenson returns after a strong freshman campaign for the Chargers that included 18 extra base hits, and Hillsdale also looks forward to the healthy return of sophomore Tyler Sowers, who missed the last month of the season with injuries but would have led the Chargers in virtually every hitting category if he'd stayed healthy and kept up the levels of production he had before his injury.

One of the keys early on in 2026 so far has been strong contributions from breakthrough players and newcomers. After a quiet first season, sophomore Jake Figman was named G-MAC North Division Player of the Week earlier this month and looks like one of the team's top bats. Freshman Nolan Coppens, Drew Law and Ryan Wiehe are all off to strong starts for the Chargers as well, while catcher Logan Dichler has earned a spot in the starting lineup and sophomore Carson Tucker has made an impact as an option off the bench offensively.

Hillsdale will look to continue to improve its pitching staff in 2026. Despite significant injury trouble in 2025, the Chargers posted a 5.49 ERA, the team's best mark since 2018.

The Chargers are still dealing with injury availability for several of their top arms into 2026, but Hillsdale is making it work early on with several players stepping into new roles. Junior Jacob Pallo is a reliable veteran starter who's heading the staff entering this weekend's series, while fellow junior Logan McLaughlin has been solid since moving into the starting rotation from the bullpen.

Two of Hillsdale's best pitchers so far have been relievers Patrick MacLean and Brenden Smith, who've both excelled in multiple long relief appearances for the Chargers. MacLean was named the G-MAC North Division Pitcher of the week earlier this month, while Smith looked decent in a starting role against GVSU. The Chargers also have gotten strong relief appearances from Josh Novak, getting his first real playing time back from injuries that cost him his first two seasons, and Collin Lange. Winston Delp is another important reliever for the Chargers, while youngsters Isaac Scavarda, Jeff Klominek and Nate Albanese are taking on significant roles early in their careers.

Hillsdale is hoping to reinforce its staff throughout the season with players making healthy returns from injuries, including two-year starter Daniel Higdon and key relievers Aaron Jasiak and Hayden Hoffpauir, among others. All three players made brief appearances against GVSU.

Hillsdale is 1-3 all-time against UMSL since 1995. The last meeting between the two teams was a wild 17-16 affair taken by the Tritons in the final inning in 2024. The Chargers only win in the series came in a 6-5 victory in a doubleheader split back on March 7, 2004.