Schedule:
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Flagler (14-6) | 5 p.m. Friday, March 6 | Jackie Robinson Ballpark - Daytona Beach, FL
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Flagler (14-6) | 7 p.m. Friday, March 6 | Jackie Robinson Ballpark - Daytona Beach, FL
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Ferris St. (4-4) | 1:45 p.m. Saturday, March 7 | Auburndale Softball Complex - Jan Phyl Village, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Rockhurst (8-4) | 4 p.m. Saturday, March 7 | Auburndale Softball Complex - Jan Phyl Village, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Upper Iowa (1-6) | 10 a.m. Sunday, March 8 | Auburndale Softball Complex - Jan Phyl Village, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Post (0-0) | 12:15 p.m. Sunday, March 8 | Auburndale Softball Complex - Jan Phyl Village, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs #24 Southern Indiana (8-3) | 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 | Diamondplex Softball Complex - Winter Haven, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs St. Cloud State (7-3) | 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 | Diamondplex Softball Complex - Winter Haven, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) at Embry-Riddle (9-4) | 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 | Embry-Riddle Softball Stadium - Daytona Beach, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) at Embry-Riddle (9-4) | 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 | Embry-Riddle Softball Stadium - Daytona Beach, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Minn. St. Mankato (7-3) | 10 a.m. Thursday, March 12 | Auburndale Softball Complex - Jan Phyl Village, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Pitt-Johnstown (0-0) | 12:15 p.m. Thursday, March 12 | Auburndale Softball Complex - Jan Phyl Village, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Barry (8-15) | 1 p.m. Saturday, March 14 | Buccaneer Softball Field - Miami Shores, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Barry (8-15) | 3 p.m. Saturday, March 14 | Buccaneer Softball Field - Miami Shores, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Lynn (9-12) | 9 a.m. Sunday, March 15 | Lynn Softball Field - Boca Raton, FL | Video
Hillsdale (1-7) vs Lynn (9-12) | 11 a.m. Sunday, March 15 | Lynn Softball Field - Boca Raton, FL | Video
Preview
It's an annual tradition dating back decades -- students from northern colleges and universities fleeing the cold, wet weather and spending their spring break in sunny and hospitable Florida.
Multiple Hillsdale College teams also participate in a version of that tradition, though in their case, the trip is more for business than pleasure.
One of those teams headed to Florida for spring break is the Hillsdale College softball team, which will be making a trip to the Sunshine State for the third straight year, and the ninth time in the last decade.
While ordinary students flock to Florida for a break from snow and freezing rain, the softball team is seeking playable outdoor fields and a chance to gain experience heading into critical conference doubleheaders that await when the Chargers return from the South.
"Part of the challenge of being a Michigan-based team is that we just don't get a chance to get outside much in February and early March," Hillsdale College softball coach Kyle Gross said. "Compared to some of the Florida-based teams we're playing, we're 10-12 less games into the season at this point.
"Going down to Florida and having this week and a half packed with games gives us a chance to catch up in terms of experience, as well as getting our younger players more reps. It's a great opportunity to discover things about ourselves and find the areas we need to improve before conference play starts."
For the Chargers, the bulk of the trip is made up of contests in The Spring Games, an annual event that draws hundreds of northern softball schools to Florida to kick-start their softball season and give them a chance to get region games in while the fields up north are still thawing out.
But Hillsdale's softball team has also supplemented that tournament with games against Florida squads, including a special opportunity to kick off the trip on Friday against Flagler.
The Chargers and Saints will be playing a neutral site game in Daytona Beach at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, the home of the Daytona Tortugas, a Class A-advanced Minor League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
Jackie Robinson Ballpark also has played host to professional fast-pitch softball teams in the past and has been retrofitted for softball play, giving the Charger softball team a chance to experience the feel of playing in a professional stadium.
"One of our players (Madison Rathbun), has a brother, Anderson, who works in the front office for the Tortugas, and so we had this idea over the summer to play a doubleheader there," Gross said. "The Chinese national team used (Jackie Robinson Ballpark) as their home stadium for fast-pitch games, so it's already set up for softball, and with his help, we set up this game with Flagler.
"It's not typical that we get to play in a full Minor League stadium, with all the amenities of both pro baseball and pro fast-pitch. It's an opportunity we really want our players to enjoy, and we're going to get there early and treat it as a Pro day, to give them that experience of what being a pro ballplayer is like and to take advantage of our time in that facility."
The Chargers will be tested on the trip. On top of a game against a ranked Southern Indiana team at the DiamondPlex Complex in Winter Haven, FL on Tuesday, March 10, Hillsdale also faces contests against quality Minnesota St. Mankato and St. Cloud State teams fron the Northern Sun Interscholastic Conference, one of the best softball conferences in Division II.
Local teams will also provide tough challenges. Along with the doubleheader against Flagler, a solid squad in the always-tough Peach Belt Conference, the Chargers also have a road game at Embry-Riddle, one of the top teams in the Sunshine State Conference, and close the trip by traveling down to the Miami area to face off against solid programs in Barry and Lynn.
The Charger softball team isn't the only Hillsdale squad to be making a Florida swing over Spring Break. The Men's and Women's Tennis teams are also headed for the Sunshine State, looking for tough outdoor matches to prep for GMAC play.
Hillsdale's men's tennis squad opens with a tough match at Florida Southern, ranked 18th in the latest Interscholastic Tennis Association DII poll, on March 10, then play a tough NAIA squad in Southeastern on March 12 before concluding the trip with a match against fifth-ranked St. Leo on March 13.
The women's tennis squad plays back-to-back matches on March 9 against Broward College and Palm Beach Atl. to start their trip, and finishes with a huge test against the fifth-ranked women's team in the country, Nova Southeastern, on the same day.
Photo: MaryKate Drews