Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 (HILLSDALE, Mich.) – The regular season ended with a doubleheader and series split as Walsh took Game 1 12-4 before Hillsdale won the finale 8-7. It's the first time the Cavaliers (26-24, 17-13) have recorded a winning conference record since they started GLIAC play in 2013.
The Cavaliers will play on after they secured a GLIAC tournament bed yesterday and will be the No. 5 seed in the six-team field. The Chargers (30-20, 18-14) will be the No. 6 seed.
Walsh started off the day with another big offensive game as the entire starting lineup recorded a hit. Four players had multiple hit games, none bigger than Luke Caple who hit a pair of home runs to give him nine on the season.
The first came in the opening frame to put Walsh up 2-0 early. The second came in the top of the third, this time a solo shot to right field, to put the Maroon and Gold up for good.
Brook Clark, one of the aforementioned quartet with multiple hits, followed up later in the inning with an RBI single to score Austin Szink. Jason McPeek was later hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Johnny Knight IV.
After Hillsdale scored one in the bottom of the third, the Cavs added another pair in the fourth when Szink sailed one over the fence in left center.
Two innings later, Andrew Stalnaker went yard to spark a five run rally. Eric Conner added a single down the left field line to score Knight before Tyson Lautanen cleared the bases with a single through the right side to score McPeek, James Thomas, and Conner.
Alex Zander picked up his first decision of the season as he came on in relief in the fourth inning and pitched three frames. The pitching staff was solid as it struck out 10 Chargers in the opener.
The hot bats continued into the second game as the Cavs took a 6-0 lead through the first 1 ½ innings, but the Chargers rallied for eight runs in the next 1 ½ innings and held on for the 8-7 win.
McPeek started the scoring with his GLIAC-best 15th home run of the season. Szink was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in Lautanen for the second run. Caple highlighted the second inning with a two-RBI single to score McPeek and Thomas in a four-run frame.
Walsh remained in the lead until a grand slam completed Hillsdale's comeback.
The Cavaliers will now take on No. 2-seed Ashland in the first game of the GLIAC Tournament at 10:30 a.m. The tournament will take place May 12-15 in Xenia, Ohio.
