Game 1 box score: Hillsdale 6, Lake Superior State 3
Game 2 box score: Hillsdale 10, Lake Superior State 1 (5 inn.)
After being idle for nearly a month, the Charger softball team resumed its winning ways in its home opener Friday afternoon.
Hillsdale showed little signs of rust in earning a pair of wins over visiting Lake Superior State, 6-3 and 10-1, to improve to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the GLIAC.
The Chargers' 7-3 record is their best 10-game record in 14 years.
In the opener, senior pitcher Sarah Grunert improved to 5-0 on the season, throwing 3.2 innings of no-hit ball as part of a seven-inning stint that saw her strike out three and walk just one. She was able to limit damage the Lakers could have caused in the late innings, when their bats started to find a rhythm.
One bat who was in rhythm all day was that belonging to Charger junior Bekah Kastning. On the first pitch she saw in a month, she sent a line-drive laser over the center field fence for a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. That one hit made an impression on the Lakers the rest of the day.
On Kastning's first at bat of game 2, she was intentionally walked with runners on first and second with nobody out. That is something rarely seen at any level of baseball or softball. That decision proved to be costly, as the Chargers went on to score six runs in that inning. Kastning was 4-for-7 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored between the two games.
Sophomore Haley Lawrence had a nice game at the plate in the opener, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a run batted in. Freshman second baseman Amanda Marra had a successful home collegiate debut, going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Junior Cassie Asselta also had a double in the game 1 win.
In game 2, senior pitcher Sarah Klopfer notched her second victory of the season, a five-inning outing due to Hillsdale's nine run lead after five complete innings. Klopfer yielded just three hits in the win.
Asselta, Marra and Kelsey Gockman each scored two runs for Hillsdale, with Gockman going 2-for-3. Senior Danielle Garceau added a two-run single and drove in a season-high three runs in the victory. Senior Ainsley Ellison added a pair of hits and drove in two.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale hosts Northwood at noon Saturday.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kadie Lowery