Huge 7th-inning comeback at Highland highlights Chargers’ busy weekend

GALESBURG — An eight-run rally in the seventh inning of Game 1 helped the Sandburg baseball team split an Arrowhead Conference doubleheader Saturday at Highland. The Chargers then closed the weekend with a pair of losses Sunday at South Suburban.

SATURDAY
Game 1
Sandburg 16, Highland 13
Sandburg      107     000     8          —        16
Highland       010     651     0          —        13
W-Brandon Barrientos 1.1 IP, 1 K, 2 BB
SV-Nathan Hill 1 IP, 2 K, 1 BB 

Chargers highlights
• A seven-run third inning put Sandburg up 8-1. Carter Chapin kicked off the scoring in the inning by driving in a pair with a single.
• The Cougars scored 12 unanswered runs to take a 13-8 lead into the seventh, but the Chargers staged a monster comeback. Burke Miller doubled in a run, and Landon Binder had an RBI single to make it 13-10. Trailing 13-12 with one away, Chapin lined a single to left to tie the game, and Colton Allen put Sandburg ahead with a two-run base hit to left. Miller's second RBI double of the inning gave the Chargers a 16-13 lead that they'd go on to close out.

Sandburg standout
Chapin had three of the Chargers' 11 hits, going 3 for 5 with three runs scored, three RBIs and a stolen base.

Other top Chargers
• Chuck Hathaway — 2 for 4, double, walk, two runs, RBI
• Miller — 2 for 2, two doubles, run, two RBIs
• Allen — 1 for 2, three walks, two runs, two RBIs

Game 2
Highland 15, Sandburg 5 (5 innings)
Sandburg      003     02       —        5
Highland       217     14       —        15
L-Nathan Hill 2.2 IP, 5 K, 1 BB 

Chargers highlights
A three-run Sandburg third tied the game. Jace Dickerson had an RBI single in the inning, and two Cougars errors helped him come around to score one batter later. Hathaway's one-out RBI groundout knotted the game at 3-3.

Sandburg standout
Damien Snell doubled twice as he went 3 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI. The second baseman also swiped a pair of bags.

Other top Chargers
• Dickerson — 2 for 3, run, two RBIs

SUNDAY
Game 1
South Suburban 5, Sandburg 2
Sandburg      000     011     0          —        2
S. Suburban 101     120     x          —        5
L-Ethan Krei 5 IP, 5 K, 2 BB 

Chargers highlights
• Dickerson doubled with one away in the fifth and came in on Carter Ramsey's line-drive single to left one batter later to get the Chargers on the board at 3-1.
• Hathaway homered to right with one gone in the sixth, making it a 5-2 game. The dinger was the fourth of the season for the right fielder from Deer Creek-Mackinaw.

Sandburg standout
Ethan Krei pitched well despite being saddled with the loss. The sophomore southpaw allowed two earned runs on seven hits over five innings. Krei struck out five and walked a pair.

Game 2
South Suburban 13, Sandburg 3 (5 innings)
Sandburg      101     01       —        3
S. Suburban 340     15       —        13
L-Brady Peterson 4 IP, 1 K, 1 BB 

Chargers highlights
Sandburg scraped across a run in the first as Snell led off the game with a single, moved to third on Allen's one-out base hit and scored on Hathaway's line-drive hit to right.

Sandburg standout
Allen reached three times in the loss, going 2 for 2 with a walk and an RBI. His RBI came on a bases-load base on balls in the third.

Other top Chargers
• Hathaway — 2 for 3, RBI
• Brady Veselack — 1 for 2, double, two runs

UP NEXT
1 p.m. Tuesday vs. Highland (nine innings) 

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