They hit. They ran. They scored. Then they did some more.
The Hillsdale College softball team enjoyed a huge day on the diamond Monday in Toledo, as it swept Lourdes College by scores of 10-1 and 12-6 at Pacesetter Park. Hillsdale is now back to the .500 mark for the season at 16-16 overall.
The Chargers play all six of their final regular season games at home, starting with a big Wednesday twinbill with Tiffin University starting at 3:30 p.m.
Monday's first game was a five-inning affair, thanks to the team's nine-run lead after five full innings. The Chargers scored four runs in the first and third innings to build a huge lead. In the process, one of its most athletic players set a school record.
Sophomore outfielder Ainsley Ellison stole second base in the top of the first inning, good for her 18th stolen base of the season, a new single-season school record. She finished the day with a total of five steals, giving her 22 for the season. That total also ranks first in the GLIAC by a wide margin.
Freshman Jessica Knepper had a stat line one doesn't often see, going 3-for-3 with two triples and four runs batted in. Getting two triples in a game is extremely rare, considering that four in one season is currently tied for the 10th-most in a season in school history.
Freshman Cassie Asselta and junior Jessica Day each went 2-for-2 in the opener, while freshman Bekah Kastning hit the ball hard in each at bat, but was denied a hit, but still drove in two runs.
Kastning quickly made up for her snakebit game one with a monaster second game. She hit her fourth home run of the season and slammed her fourth triple of the season in her first two at bats of the nightcap. She finished game two going 3-for-5 with three runs batted in, two runs scored, and was just a doulble short of hitting for the cycle.
Starting pitcher Kate Ardrey helped her own cause by going 3-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored and a run batted in.
Asselta had another two-hit game, while sophomore Sarah Grunert went 2-for-5 with a double. Nine of the team's 12 runs scored came from the lineup's top five hitters.