Game 1 box score: Hillsdale 10, Lake Erie 0 (5 inn.)
Game 2 box score: Lake Erie 5, Hillsdale 4
The Hillsdale College softball senior class of Katie Kish, Jessica Taylor, Carly Gouge and Amanda Marra's impact on the program and greater campus has been significant and long-lasting. They were appropriately honored for their four years of work and success.
All four of them contributed to the Chargers' 10-0 five-inning win over Lake Erie Monday afternoon on Senior Day at Johnny Williams Field. The Storm rallied to win the second game between the teams 5-4.
The doubleheader split leaves Hillsdale with a 17-22 overall record and 11-7 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
In the opener, the Chargers got exactly the right quality of strong starting pitching from junior Dana Weidinger and terrific performance from the lineup. Hillsdale outhit Lake Erie 11-1 and jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, putting together the ideal two-way performance.
Weidinger recorded her second complete-game shutout in recent weeks with a masterful performance. She struck out six batters in her five-inning victory, recording her sixth win of the season. She threw 56 strikes against just 30 balls and appeared to overpower the Storm batters throughout the game.
Sophomore Emma Johnson had another excellent day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with 3 RBI. Taylor had a double, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a run batted in. Doubles also came off the bats of Natalie Walters, Madison Stoner and Sam Catron. Victoria Addis went 2-for-3 with a run batted in and Marra scored twice.
Game two saw the Storm make good adjustments that led directly to the win. They committed four fewer errors than they did in game one and played deeper in the outfield, turning hard-hit balls by the Chargers into outs near the fence instead of damaging doubles and triples.
Taylor, one of the top hitters in the conference this year, was 3-for-4 with a stolen base, one run scored and one batted in. Kish doubled as part of a 2-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in. Gouge made a number of running catches from her right field position, and Johnson produced another two-hit game.