Hill College baseball team fighting for postseason playoff spot

After dropping a pair of key conference baseball games to Ranger College over the weekend, Hill College’s baseball team is currently in seventh place with 12 games remaining in the regular season.

Head Baseball Coach Chris Rateike said his team (22-18 overall, 8-12 conference) has a tough road ahead as it hopes to secure a playoff berth at the end of the season. However, the Rebels will have to survive a brutal eight-game schedule with home-and-home matchups against Weatherford College (ranked No. 4 in the country) and McLennan Community College (currently second place in the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference).

“As a team, I believe we’ve been underachieving,” Rateike said. “We’re going to have to start hitting a little better as well as playing better defense, and we definitely have the ability to do those things.”

Hill College does have one advantage on its side – as half of its 12 remaining games are at home – and the Rebels have an impressive 15-5 record at home.

“In baseball, it’s tough to play on the road,” Rateike added. “Those teams who are successful tend to sweep at home while winning a few on the road. Our recent losses to Ranger really hurt us.”

The Rebels are currently looking to bounce back from a four-game winless series against Ranger College where they got outscored 19-2 in the last two games.

As a team, Hill College is ranked No. 13 in NJCAA Region 5 (out of 26 teams) in hitting, 13th in pitching, and tied for 8th in fielding.

Team statistical leaders include freshman third baseman Garrett Smith (Katy) with a .345 batting average (minimum 70 at-bats) with 38 hits on 110 at-bats, including 10 doubles and four home runs; sophomore catcher Ethan Adkisson currently leads the team with seven home runs; and teammates Viggo Lopez (freshman from San Juan) and Derick Andiarena (sophomore from Anasco, Puerto Rico) each have 19 stolen bases on the season.

Hill College hosts McLennan Community College April 17 in a double header beginning at noon (7-inning game) and then 2 p.m. (9-inning game).

For more information on the Hill College baseball program, please visit https://hillcollegeathletics.com.