Schedule
Tiffin (14-28, 9-15 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (18-23, 12-12 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Friday, April 24 | Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field – Hillsdale, Michigan
Tiffin (14-28, 9-15 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (18-23, 12-12 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, April 25 | Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field – Hillsdale, Michigan
Tiffin (14-28, 9-15 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (18-23, 12-12 G-MAC) | 4 p.m. ET Saturday, April 25 | Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field – Hillsdale, Michigan
Tiffin (14-28, 9-15 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (18-23, 12-12 G-MAC) | 12 p.m. ET Saturday, April 26 | Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field – Hillsdale, Michigan
 
Links
Hillsdale Roster | Tiffin Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Tiffin Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Preview
Both Hillsdale and its weekend opponent face perhaps the most important series of their respective seasons this weekend at Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field. With a series victory over visiting Tiffin, the Chargers could all but secure their spot in the G-MAC Tourney and all but knock out the Dragons. On the flipside, if Tiffin can take the series, their hopes of making the postseason would be very much alive while the Chargers could now be in jeopardy of missing out.

Tiffin enters the weekend at 14-28 overall and 9-15 in the G-MAC in new head coach Troy Merriman's first season. While it hasn't been a stellar campaign, Tiffin has had moments of brilliance, splitting series with G-MAC North Division leader Findlay and G-MAC South Division leader Walsh, and the Dragons still control their own destiny with eight conference games to play.

The Dragons' strength has been on the mound, where Tiffin has a respectable 6.97 ERA that ranks in the middle of the G-MAC pack. Ace Brandon Swope has been one of the G-MAC's top pitchers with a 2.53 ERA and helped Tiffin steal some victories against top teams on their schedule, while fellow junior Trent Hedges has put up solid numbers as well, with a 4.93 ERA and a team-best 62 strikeouts in just 38.1 innings. Senior Johnathon Ray and redshirt freshman Dominic Elia have been solid arms to fill out the starting rotation. Freshman Brock Polilli is the team's closer with four saves on the season, while other top relief arms for Tiffin include Luke Mager, Brett Madison, Andrew Baileys and Nick Hayes.

Offensively, Tiffin ranks just 11^th in the G-MAC in batting average and 10^th in RBIs, and is hoping to heat up for a crucial showdown with the Chargers. The Dragons' top hitter Is junior Brayden Clark, the only Dragon hitting over .315 and the team leader in home runs (8) and RBIs (29). Griff Cady, Jovanny Skrelja and Michael Patelllis are other key bats, along with Gavin Marceric, Adam Deitschel and Jayden Leach.

Hillsdale got on a roll against Lake Erie last weekend and followed up with the big win over Wayne State on Tuesday, giving the Chargers hope for a big stretch run into the G-MAC Tourney. The Chargers have been solid offensively, ranking in the middle of the pack in batting average and RBIs in the G-MAC to this point. Leadoff hitter Gaard Swenson is the Chargers' top bat for average and power, with 15 extra base hits, and a team-leading 34 RBIs and .950 OPS. Rocco Tenuta is another top power bat for the Chargers as well, with 17 extra base hits, a .923 OPS and 32 RBIs, and freshman Nolan Coppens has a team-high 13 doubles as well. Jake Figman and Tyler Turner are both batting over .300 as well for the Chargers, while Billy Porotsky and Aaron Jasiak give Hillsdale speed at the back of the order and Carson Tucker has been impressive with a .347 average in spot situations as well. Swenson and Jasiak are dangerous base-stealers for Hillsdale, with 30 stolen bags between them.

The Chargers' struggles have been on the mound, where injuries and youth have made consistency a challenge all season. Sophomore Brenden Smith is in the midst of a breakthrough season on the mound for Hillsdale but must recapture his midseason form after a couple of rough outings, while veteran starters Logan McLaughlin and Jacob Pallo have both shown the capacity for strong starts and have been important pitchers as well. Hillsdale is still looking to shore up its fourth starting spot, with senior Patrick MacLean bringing an impressive 2.86 ERA out of the bullpen for the Chargers against Lake Erie and Findlay in starts the last two weekends.

With MacLean in the starting rotation now, Hillsdale is thinner in the bullpen, though still with good options. Redshirt sophomore Josh Novak has excelled as the team's closer, with a 2.25 ERA and five combined wins and saves in 14 appearances, while Hayden Hoffpauir has posted a 3.06 ERA in eight strong outings as a setup man. Winston Delp, Collin Lange and Nate Albanese are other commonly used relievers, while Hillsdale also can turn to freshmen Isaac Scavarda and Jeff Klominek, who have starting experience this season, and Drew Law may be in the mix as well.

Tiffin has a 37-22 edge in the all-time series with the Chargers, and took three of four from Hillsdale last season, though the Chargers got the last laugh with a 16-15 win at Prasco Park in May that knocked the Dragons out of the G-MAC Tournament.