The young Charger softball team faced another nationally ranked opponent and hung tough over 15 innings on a sunny, but windy day in Detroit, facing the No. 7-ranked Wayne State University Warriors.
WSU (22-4, 2-0) swept the Chargers by scores of 3-0 and 4-2, the latter game needing eight innings to complete. Hillsdale is 4-10 overall and 0-6 in conference play, and heads to Ashland and Malone for a pair of doubleheaders this weekend.
Warrior pitcher Lyndsay Butler shut down the Charger offense in the first game, striking out 13 batters while yielding just two hits. Sophomore Ainsley Ellison broke up the no-hitter with a single in the top of the sixth inning. Freshman catcher Jessica Knepper added an infield hit in the game one loss for Hillsdale.
The Chargers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two when freshman outfielder Bekah Kastning slammed a double to left, scoring Ellison, who led off the inning with a single up the middle.
Kastning was a thorn in the side of the Warriors, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run batted in. She was intentionally walked in the fifth inning one batter after Ellison tied the score with an RBI double. Ellison also had two hits with a run batted in and a run scored.
The game remained tied into the eighth inning when the Warriors took advantage of two Hillsdale errors with no outs in the top half of the frame. Both runners eventually scored on a double by WSU's Shelby Spano.