The Hillsdale College baseball team got one of its best wins of the season at home on Tuesday night, rallying from a six-run deficit to walk off nationally ranked Wayne State in the ninth inning of an 11-10 barn-burner.
Sophomore outfielder
Jake Figman was the hero in late innings for the Chargers, tying the game at 10-all in the bottom of the seventh with a RBI double, then delivering the walk-off hit in the ninth, hitting a ground ball single up the middle to score pinch runner
Dylan Whitfield from third for the game-sealing run.
Hillsdale trailed 10-4 after five innings but got back in the game with a six-run seventh inning. The Chargers scored all six runs with two outs, loading the bases and getting the first run on three walks and a hit by pitch.
Tyler Sowers and
Ryan Wiehe delivered back-to-back two-run singles to nearly erase the entire deficit, followed by Figman's double that tied the game.
Along with the offensive explosion, Hillsdale got a great relief appearance from freshman
Drew Law, who pitched three perfect innings and struck out six of the nine batters he faced to keep Wayne State in striking distance and give the Chargers the shot at victory. Law earned his first collegiate win for that performance, and he followed a strong relief appearance by another freshman,
Isaac Scavarda, who pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts as well and got Hillsdale out of a jam in the fifth.
Sowers and Wiehe each finished with a single and a double and combined for five RBIs in the victory, while Figman was 2 for 2 with his two game-winning RBI hits.
Gaard Swenson added two singles and a stolen base as well for Hillsdale, which took full advantage of two Wayne State errors and some pitching wildness for the Warriors to plate 11 runs on nine hits.
Jeff Klominek was the starter for the Chargers, striking out four and walking two in three innings of work, and
Collin Lange also pitched an inning of relief before giving way to Scavarda in the fifth.
Hillsdale improves to 17-19 overall ahead of a critical four-game homestand against G-MAC leader Findlay this weekend. Due to expected inclement weather on Saturday and Sunday, those games against the Oilers will now be played Friday and Monday, with two games each day and starting at 2 p.m. on both afternoons. While Findlay has a solid lead on the field, a strong showing by the Chargers could move Hillsdale into second place in the G-MAC North Division and greatly improve the Chargers' chance of a high seed in the season-ending G-MAC Tournament.
