Baseball

HCAC 2025 Baseball Notebook, Week 7

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Baseball teams competed in week seven of the 2025 season.
 
Around the League:
HCAC Baseball Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week:
Hitter of the Week:
Cam Bortone (South Bend, Ind.) Manchester University | First Base | First Year - The First year had a great three-game series against Franklin this past weekend, helping lead the Spartans to a 2-1 series victory. Bortone finished the weekend going 7-13 with a batting average of .538 while knocking in four RBIs and recording three doubles and one stolen base. Bortone was perfect in the field and recorded one double play on the weekend.

Pitching Athlete of the Week:
Ty Layson (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Manchester University | Pitcher | Senior - The Junior had another lights out performance to pick up his 6th win of the season and improve to 6-0. Layson pitching seven scoreless innings where he allowed just three hits and struck out seven in the win over Franklin this past Sunday. Layson now sits at a 3.68 ERA on the season which puts him T-4 in the HCAC.


Notable Performances
Hitting Athletes
  • Brendan Tabor (New Palestine, Ind.) Anderson University | Catcher | Senior - Brendan Tabor went 4-for-11 with 2 homers, 3 walks and 4 RBI. He finished the week with a .364 batting average, a .500 on-base percentage and a .909 slugging percentage.
  • Brody Hammersley (Coshocton, Ohio) Bluffton University | First Base | Senior - Hammersley went 6-of-12 for a .500 batting average in the three-game series at Earlham. He drove in two runs, scored two runs and slugged .583 with a .571 on-base percentage.
  • Johnathan Jimenez (Rising Sun, Ind.) Earlham College | Outfield | Junior - Jonathan Jimenez led the Quakers offensively in a series win over Bluffton this weekend. The junior hit .385 (5-13) with two runs scored, three stolen bases and one RBI, which was the winning run in a 4-3 walk-off win in game two.
  • Jake Danneman (Edgewood, Ky.) Hanover College | Right Field | Senior - Jake Danneman led the Panthers as they posted a 2-2 record. Hanover fell to Spalding in non-conference action before going 2-1 at Rose-Hulman. The senior tallied 5 RBI with a double and five hits. He also scored four runs with a walk and two stolen bases.
  • Austin Taylor (Louisville, Ky.) Transylvania University | First Base | Senior - In Monday's Conference matchup against Berea, Austin Taylor went 2-4 from the plate. Taylor added 3 runs, 2 RBI's, 2 stolen bases, and a double. Taylor continues to be an offensive presence for the Pioneers.
Pitching Athletes
  • Landen Southern (Lafayette, Ind.) Anderson University | Pitcher | Senior - Landen Southern recorded the win after allowing 1 run in 7 innings pitched. He fanned 6 batters, issued 5 walks and allowed 5 hits. He posted a 1.29 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.
  • Matt Becher (Fishers, Ind.) Bluffton University | Pitcher | Sophomore - Becher put together Bluffton's third outstanding start of the weekend series, but he was denied a victory when Earlham plated five runs over the final two innings against the Beaver bullpen. He scattered five hits and four walks over seven dominating innings, finishing the week with a 0.00 ERA while holding the opposition to a paltry .208 batting average.
  • Kyle Jeffries (Gilbert, Ariz.) Earlham College | Pitcher | Sophomore - In a 4-3 win over Bluffton on Sunday, Kyle Jeffries threw eight innings, allowing just seven hits and two earned runs while striking out five Beavers.
  • Cam Manuel (Akron, Ind.) Franklin College | Pitcher | First Year - Manuel turned in the first complete game effort of his career on Sunday afternoon, giving up one run and scattering nine hits with one walk and one strikeout as Franklin claimed a 5-1 victory over Manchester…Manuel became the first Grizzly starter to go the distance this year and lowered his ERA to a team-best 1.52 with his effort.
  • Dylan Lloyd (Colerain, Ohio) Hanover College | Pitcher | First Year - Dylan Lloyd posted a 1-0 week getting the game one start at Rose-Hulman. He threw six complete innings, allowing just one earned run across three hits. He added seven strikeouts and posted a 1.50 ERA.
 
Looking Forward:
HCAC Baseball Standings