Game 1 box score - Ohio Dominican 3, Hillsdale 2
Game 2 box score - Hillsdale 5, Ohio Dominican 3
March 30, 2013 - One of the hottest teams in the GLIAC starting out softball conference play has been the Ohio Dominican University Panthers. Hillsdale College was able to slow that start up a bit Saturday afternoon.
The Chargers split a Saturday twinbill with the Panthers in Columbus, losing game 1 3-2 before coming back to win game 2 5-3. Hillsdale is now 3-10 on the season and will finally play its home opener Tuesday against Wayne State.
Seven of the eight combined runs in game 2 were scored in the first two innings, as the teams traded scoring rallies in innings one and two. A two-run second inning enabled Hillsdale to hold a 4-3 lead entering the third, and pushed across a valuable insurance run in the fifth for the final margin.
The five runs were enough for freshman pitcher Sarah Klopfer to pick up her second win of her career. She went all seven innings with three strikeouts and no walks. She pitched well in clutch situations in the late innings, recording the third out of the sixth and seventh innings with a runner in scoring position for ODU.
The aforementioned insurance run was provided by junior Kristi Gordon, who blasted a solo shot to lead off the fifth inning for her second home run of the season. She has hit home runs in each of the past two Saturday games for the Chargers.
Senior Taylor Schulty went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs for Hillsdale. while freshman Sarah Grunert also collected two hits, scored once and drove a run in.
The top five batters in Hillsdale's lineup went 7-for-16 in the game 2 win for Hillsdale. Sophomore Jessica Day, batting leadoff for the first time in a GLIAC game this season, scored two runs. Senior Miriam McKay went 2-for-2 with a run scored for the Chargers.
In the first game, the teams were tied 2-2 until the Panthers scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The offense was provided by Schulty, who hit a home run as part of another two-hit game. She also drove in both runs in the game for the Chargers. Senior Kate Hoop also had two hits for Hillsdale.