Game 1 box score: HC 6, Malone 3
Game 2 box score: HC 12, Malone 3
In businesslike fashion, the Hillsdale College softball team extended its winning streak to three and improved its home record to 12-2 with a doubleheader sweep of Malone University Sunday.
Hillsdale came back from a 3-1 deficit to post a 6-3 victory in the opener. The Chargers piled up seven first-inning runs in the second game before prevailing 12-3 in five innings. The team is now 20-18 overall and 11-9 in the GLIAC, and starts the final week of the regular season Tuesday at Lake Erie.
The recent power surge by junior Sarah Grunert continued in the first game when she crushed a home run over the right-field fence. She is now tied for fourth on the college's single-season home runs list with eight, and her 32 RBI put her within two of 10th place on that single-season list. She went 3-for-4 with three runs scored in the game 1 win.
Bekah Kastning, Sarah Klopfer and Kate Ardrey each picked up two hits and Kastning drove home two runs in the opener. Freshman pitcher Danielle Stiene earned her 11th win of the season with a nine-strikeout performance. Her 162 Ks on the season is third in school history.
No come-from-behind offense was necessary in game 2, as Hillsdale scored seven times in the top of the first inning to put the game out of reach quickly.
Ardrey and Jessica Day each had 2 RBI, while Grunert added two more hits and Kastning and Klopfer each had two-hit games. Klopfer improved to 6-2 on the mound this season, earning the win.