A strong fourth inning helped Hillsdale beat host Maryville and rebound from a tough loss to Wisconsin Parkside on the first day of competition in the Maryville Invite on Saturday in St. Louis.

The Chargers plated five runs in the fourth against the Saints to break open a scoreless tie, taking full advantage of a passed ball and two Maryville errors to take 5-1 victory. 

Leadoff singles by Taylor Lewis and Sydney Davis set the table for the inning, and after both advanced on a passed ball, Nathalie Hagle got the Chargers on the board with a sacrifice fly to score Lewis. Davis and Maggie Olaveson each scored on errors, Medleigh Danchak scored Olivia Liguori on a groundout that brought Liguori home, and Ava Stripp finished the inning with an RBI double.

Hillsdale was outhit 8-5 by Maryville but all five hits came in that productive fourth inning, and strung together with Maryville's pair of errors provided all the fuel the Chargers offense needed.

Freshman Katie Jonas, meanwhile, kept Maryville off balance for a complete game victory, her second of the season. Jonas struck out four, walked two and surrendered just one earned run on a solo home run that came after the Chargers had already built a five-run lead. With two runners in scoring position and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and Maryville threatening a comeback, Jonas struck out the final batter to end the threat and seal the victory.

The win over Maryville was a nice bounce-back from a frustrating loss in the first game of the day. Hillsdale built an early 7-2 lead, but couldn't hold on as a seven run fifth inning by Parkside allowed the Rangers to take a 10-7 victory.

 After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, the Chargers stormed back, scoring three times in the top of the second. Olivia Liguori drove in Medleigh Danchak from third after Danchak tripled to start the inning, and reached safely on an error, and Taylor Lewis put the Chargers ahead on a two-run double to score Emma Sather and Anna Chellman. Hillsdale padded its lead in the top of the fourth with a RBI double by Sather and a RBI single by Lewis, and tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Danchak and a RBI double by Ronnie Craft.

It all came to grief in the bottom of the fifth, as Parkside plated eight runs. The Rangers had five two-out hits as Hillsdale couldn't find the third out it needed in time. The Chargers had chances to rally again, getting two runners on in the top of the sixth, and a leadoff double by Olivia Liguori in the top of the seventh, but Hillsdale was unable to get runners home and retake the lead.

Taylor Lewis led Hillsdale with a single, a double and three RBIs in the loss, and Anna Chellman added two hits as well. Nathalie Hagle also had a double for the Chargers, as did Liguori and Craft.

Mackenzi Maxson was the starter for the Chargers, going five innings with four strikeouts and six walks, while Grace Harris took the loss in relief. Anistyn Foster and Gracelynn Kelly also pitched for Hillsdale, with Kelly striking out one and walking one in a scoreless inning of relief.

Hillsdale is now 6-6 and plays two more in St. Louis on Sunday, first against Purdue Northwest in the morning and then later a rematch with Maryville in the afternoon.