Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

The Malone University baseball team tallied a 1-1 record on Saturday in its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Hillsdale (MI) College.  The Pioneers picked up a 5-2 victory in the opener before dropping game two by a final score of 3-1.

Malone's record moved to 18-25 overall and 11-17 in the GLIAC following the split while Hillsdale now holds a mark of 16-23 overall and 9-16 in conference games.

The Pioneers and Chargers will wrap up their three-game weekend series on Sunday with a single, nine-inning game, starting at 12:00 p.m.  Hillsdale will provide live audio and stats during the contest at http://livestats.prestosports.com/hillsdale/

Game One Recap
Malone plated solo runs in the first and second innings to grab an early advantage in the opener.  First baseman Logan Gray got the Pioneers on the scoreboard with a two-out single to left.  Rightfielder Michael Chack then made it 2-0 in the second after ripping a two-out single through the right side of the infield.

The Chargers cut the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the third before Malone answered back in the top of the fourth, pushing the lead to 4-1 by stringing together three straight two-out base hits.  Designated hitter Jon Crank got things started with a single to left and then came all the way around to score on a double to left by third baseman Bob Suitca.  Gray then stepped to the plate and chased home Suitca with a single to right.

Malone tacked on another run in the top of the sixth as Suitca smacked an RBI single to center.  The Chargers managed to trim the lead to 5-2 with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but that was as close as the hosts would get. 

Pioneer starting pitcher Taylore Baker went the distance on the mound for the Pioneers, improving his record to 4-1 on the year.  The junior limited the Chargers to the two runs on six hits while striking out 10 over his seven innings of work.

Malone registered 11 hits in the contest, led by Gray, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI's.  Chack, Crank, Suitca and second baseman Tyler Eagon all added two hits apiece.

Game Two Recap
Hillsdale jumped out to 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of the finale.  Malone tied it up in the fourth inning when Suitca crossed the plate on a bases-loaded obstruction call.

The contest then remained deadlocked until the bottom of the sixth when the Chargers pulled ahead with a pair of runs.

The Pioneers put a runner on base in the top of the seventh, but could not bring him home, falling by the 3-1 final.

Starting pitcher Kris Morris hurled a complete game for Hillsdale, limiting Malone to the one run on six hits.

Jack McDonald tossed the first 5.1 innings for the Pioneers and took the loss (0-1) after giving up three runs on four hits.  McDonald struck out eight while walking six.

Leftfielder Keanan Locke went 2-for-2 to pace the Malone line-up.