Hillsdale gave G-MAC regular season champion Ashland a major run on Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams, but the Chargers fell to the host Eagles in the final inning in a pair of one-run games.
The Chargers took a 5-4 loss in game one despite a strong start. The Chargers loaded the bases in the top of the first inning and pushed across a run on a ground-out by
Nolan Coppens, then took a 2-0 lead on a RBI single by
Gaard Swenson in the top of the second inning to go up 2-0.
After Ashland tied the game in the third,
Billy Porotsky used a leadoff single and later scored on a wild pitch to restore Hillsdale's lead by a 3-2 margin in the top of the fourth.
Ashland pulled ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Hillsdale came through again, as Porotsky scored for the second time in the game on a sacrifice fly by
Rocco Tenuta to tie the game at four-all in the top of the sixth.
Still tied in the seventh, Hillsdale hoped to force extra innings but came up short, as Ashland drew a one-out walk, stole a base and scored the winning run on a walk-off double.
Porotsky was 2 for 2 with two runs scored and Swenson added two hits as well to lead the Chargers at the plate, while
Tyler Sowers and
Aaron Jasiak each chipped in a double as well.
Josh Novak (1-4) took the loss in relief for the Chargers, striking out one of the three batters he faced, while
Logan McLaughlin struck out two in three innings as the starter and
Patrick MacLean also pitched three innings of relief.
The nightcap was a 7-6 thriller, as Hillsdale rallied from a 3-1 deficit with five runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-3 lead.
Aaron Jasiak's three run home run in the sixth pulled Hillsdale ahead, and
Jake Figman's RBI single added to the Chargers' lead.
A two-run home run by Ashland in the bottom of the sixth cut Hillsdale's lead to 6-5, but the Chargers still were two outs away from the victory in the bottom of the seventh when another walk-off double by the Eagles, this one a two-run shot, gave Ashland a 7-6 victory and the series sweep.
Gaard Swenson was 3 for 4 with a double to lead Hillsdale at the plate in the nightcap, and Jasiak's three-run home run also was critical.
Ryan Wiehe added a double and
Nolan Coppens a triple as well for the Chargers.
Jasiak took the loss on the mound in the seventh for Hillsdale.
Brenden Smith got the start for the Chargers and struck out two and walked two in three innings, while
Winston Delp and
Hayden Hoffpauir also pitched in relief for Hillsdale.
The Chargers finished the regular season at 21-27 overall, 15-16 in G-MAC play, and should be the seventh seed in the upcoming G-MAC Tournament beginning Wednesday at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. Hillsdale should face second-seeded Walsh, the G-MAC South Division champion, in their first round contest.
