2018 G-MAC Softball Tournament Bracket
In its first year as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, the Charger softball team has qualified for the conference tournament as its number 4 seed.
Hillsdale will face No. 5 seed Trevecca Nazarene at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Athletes in Action Complex in Xenia, Ohio. The double-elimination format tournament runs through Saturday, with all games being played at AIA.
The full tournament bracket can be found through the link at the top of this release.
The Trojans (29-15-1, 15-9 G-MAC) were the G-MAC's best-hitting team during the regular season with a .352 team batting average. But Hillsdale (20-14, 14-8) matches up with the conference's top mark in earned run average at 2.45. Right off the bat, the G-MAC Tournament will be treated to a compelling matchup.
These teams met on a chilly Saturday in Tennessee, splitting their regular season games. Hillsdale won the first game 3-0, then Trevecca bounced back to post a 5-0 win in game two on March 24.
A big part of Hillsdale's conference-best ERA was freshman Erin Hunt. She's made a big splash in her rookie season, winning 15 games while leading the G-MAC in opponents' batting average (.203) and strikeouts (142). She is a strikeout pitcher who can overpower opposing lineups. Dana Weidinger and Natalie Walters give the Chargers good pitching depth, an essential ingredient in finding success in a tournament format.
Offensively, Hillsdale is led by juniors Katie Kish and Jessica Taylor, who come into the postseason ranked first and seventh in the G-MAC in batting average, respectively. Kish has 55 hits this season, needing just four to climb into the school's single-season top 10 list. Her ability to make consistent contact and good speed makes her the ideal leadoff hitter. Kish is batting .491 on the season, 16 points better than any other player in the conference. Trevecca features the G-MAC's second-leading hitter, MaKray Odom, who is batting .475. Odom is hitting 42 points higher than the conference's third-best hitter, creting another must-watch component of this week's first-round matchup.
Taylor missed the 2016 season due to injury, but in 2018, has earned the starting shortstop position and has been among the team's hottest hitters of late. She's batting .398 and like Kish, has speed and doubles power.
Hillsdale's freshman class has also made an impact on the lineup this season. Emma Johnson, Madison Stoner and Madison Rathbun have all shown they can swing a heavy bat. They will be counted on to provide clutch hits in their postseason debut.