NCAA Division II Softball Tournament Bracket
TICKET INFO:
Adults - $7
Senior Citizens/ Students with ID - $7
Children under 12 - $3
Children 2 and under - Free
The last time the Hillsdale College softball team played in an NCAA regional tournament game, seniors Haley Lawrence and Kelsey Gockman were five years away from being born.
The Chargers have earned a spot in this year's Midwest Regional Tournament, marking their first such appearance since 1991. Hillsdale is the No. 8 seed in the region, and will face top-seeded Grand Valley State at noon Thursday in Allendale in a first-round matchup.
Softball regional tournaments are split into two locations. Playing at GVSU will be the host Lakers, the Chargers, Southern Indiana and the University of Indianapolis. Illinois-Springfield is the other regional host. Playing there will be Saginaw Valley State, Missouri-St. Louis and McKendree. The winners of the two regional brackets will meet up at the Super Regional next week.
Hillsdale (24-14) earned the automatic bid granted to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference's tournament champion. The Chargers won all four games at the G-MAC Tournament last week by a combined score of 17-1. It was Hillsdale's first-ever conference tournament win. Back in 1991, when the Chargers were members of the GLIAC, their regular season conference title qualified them for the NCAA Tournament. That year, Hillsdale went 1-2 at the regional tournament, losing 4-1 to Augustana, defeating Nebraska-Omaha and losing to St. CLoud State 4-1.
Grand Valley State (41-7) comes into the regional with a conference title of its own. The Lakers defeated Davenport 1-0 in 11 innings to secure the GLIAC Tournament title Sunday.
Indianapolis (39-18) is the region's No. 4 seed, while Southern Indiana (31-22) is the No. 5 seed).
The Chargers are on an eight-game winning streak entering regionals, and are playing strong fundamental softball in all phases. The team is getting excellent defense, timely hitting - particularly from its freshman class - and lights-out pitching by freshman Erin Hunt.
Hunt was named G-MAC Pitcher of the Week following completion of the conference tournament, and for good reason. In 27 innings pitched in the conference tournament, she struck out 34 batters, walked three and allowed just one run in leading Hillsdale to the title.
She got lots of run support from the lineup, led by junior Katie Kish, the reigning G-MAC Player of the Week. Kish has had a remarkable season, batting .492 from her leadoff spot. She also has good speed and can steal bases and get that extra base when batters behind her put the ball in play.
Juniors Jessica Taylor (.385) and Amanda Marra (.313) have also turned in excellent seasons at the plate. Sophomore Sam Catron, thought lost to the team for the season with an injury, supplies doubles and home run power, while freshman Emma Johnson had two pinch-hit runs batted in during the G-MAC Tournament.