Game 1 box score: Northern State 3, Hillsdale 2
Game 2 box score: #1 Minnesota State-Mankato 7, Hillsdale 3
The 2018 season finally got started for the Hillsdale College softball team, but the team was unable to notch a win on its first day of competition.
In the opener, Northern State scored twice in the fifth inning to record a 3-2 win over the Chargers. In Saturday's second game, Hillsdale was faced playing the number one ranked team in Division II, Minnesota State-Mankato, and came away with a 7-3 loss.
In the opener, the Chargers took a 2-1 lead in the third when junior Amanda Marra scored off a wild pitch. She got on base via walk and advanced after a fielder's choice.
Junior Katie Kish was the team's leadoff hitter and went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. Sophomore Sydney San Juan was 2-for-2 with a double and was hit by a pitch. Senior Kelsey Gockman also had a multi-hit game for Hillsdale.
In the day's second game, Hillsdale more than held its own against the top-ranked Mavericks. The Chargers led 2-0 after two innings and 3-1 after five. But Mankato scored six times in the top of the sixth to pull ahead and eventually, record the win.
Freshman first baseman Emma Johnson had two hits in her collegiate debut while Kish went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Gockman had two hits and a run batted in. Freshman catcher Madi Stoner had a hit and a run batted in during her first collegiate action as well.