Hillsdale baseball breaks May win drought with seventh inning comeback against Quincy

QUINCY — Going up against a winning Quincy Orioles baseball team on the road and earning an important win was going to be a tough task for any prep team in the area this May.

For Hillsdale baseball, their doubleheader against the Orioles was the next opportunity for the team to break through their current losing streak. The Hornets were looking for their first win since the end of April, which hasn’t been helped due to weather cancelling two of their home doubleheaders. The Hornets have had to play road warriors recently. The Orioles were the next stop on that recent tour.

More: Previewing the state ranked athletes that are headed to the Region 35-4 track championship

Game one's 13-2 final in favor of the Orioles started the night off on shaky ground, but a hungry Hillsdale squad managed to break through their May slump in thrilling fashion.

More: 19 teams from across Michigan gathered to play at the third John Matthew Krutsch Invite

After taking an early lead, then relinquishing it, the Hornets completing a five-run, seventh inning rally to beat Quincy 8-6 in game two.

It took three Hornets on the mound to get the win. Junior Wyatt Wahtola got the start, pitching into the bottom of the third. Wahtola gave up five earned runs over those three innings before handing the reigns over to Carter Davis. Davis pitched two solid innings, allowing just one hit, before handing the glove to junior Anderson Halloway.

After a three-run third inning that gave Hillsdale the lead briefly before Quincy took it right back, the Hornets got runners on base but could not capitalize to shorten their 5-3 deficit. Halloway would give up one run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Orioles a 6-3 lead.

More: 13 Hillsdale County track athletes and relay teams win at the Jack Beilfuss Invitational

Hillsdale's final at-bat in the top of the seventh started off promising after Carter Davis got on base after getting hit by a pitch. Halloway then popped one up to Oriole pitcher Jimmy Maynard, advancing Davis to second. A Ben Kunkel single put Davis in scoring position, and he would score on a single from Wahtola on the next at-bat. Kunkel advanced to third on a fielder's choice.

With only one out left to work with, Hillsdale had runners on first and third, ensuring at least a score but not enough to get the tie without multiple quality at-bats. Junior Jace Lennox drove in Kunkel on a single. A wild pitch would send runner Ben Champion to third, with Lennox advancing to second on the same pitch. Sophomore Aiden VanWormer drove in a run on a single, tying the game up and putting Lennox in the go-ahead run position at third base.

More: After winning the Quincy Invitational, Pittsford girls track earns another W at Concord

This time, senior Jace Ringman would come up clutch after just two pitches, driving a double to center field to score two runs. A quick one-two-three bottom of the seventh inning brought things to a close for the 8-6 final.

The win was the first this season for Halloway, having pitched in just three games. He recorded his first strikeout of the season in the game, as well.

Ringman and Lennox recorded the team's two doubles. Ringman finished with two hits, two RBIs and one run. Lennox had two hits, one RBI a run and a stolen base. Halloway contributed two hits and a stolen base. Aaron Webb, Carter Davis and Aiden VanWormer each had at least a hit and one run. Davis scored twice. Champion scored once. VanWormer had the one RBI hit. Wahtola had one hit and one RBI.

Game one's stats including senior Lane Pearson earning two strikeouts whilst giving up six earned runs. Pearson scored one of the two runs for Hillsdale. VanWormer pitched the final two innings of the game and recorded one strikeout and giving up four earned runs. VanWormer scored the other run for Hillsdale. Kunkel and Wahtola each had one hit. Carter Davis had one hit and one RBI.

It was the sixth win of the season for Hillsdale. They host Clinton at home in a doubleheader on Tuesday, May 21. Hillsdale faces two winning teams next week, including the Redwolves at 11-9-1 and the SCAA East champion RedHawks of Camden-Frontier.

Softball Falls to Orioles

Hillsdale softball lost its doubleheader to Quincy 16-1 and 22-7.

Layla Stebbins had one hit and one RBI in game one. Jenae Aube scored the lone run for the Hornets.

Shyanne Ellsworth had one hit, one RBI and two runs for the Hornets in game two. Aube, Maggi Riley, Layla Stebbins, Mady Poore and Kailyn Frasch all scored runs. Aube and Frosch had one hit.

Lydia Kunkel pitched both games, striking out six total batters.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale baseball breaks May win drought with seventh inning comeback against Quincy