SCHEDULE:
Hillsdale College (12-10, 0-0 G-MAC) at Lake Erie (4-13, 0-0 G-MAC) | Noon ET Saturday, March 27 | Diamond 9 Rec Park – Painesville, OH | Live Stats | Watch
Hillsdale College (12-10, 0-0 G-MAC) at Lake Erie (4-13, 0-0 G-MAC) | 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, March 27 | Diamond 9 Rec Park – Painesville, OH | Live Stats | Watch
Outlook: Picked third in the G-MAC in the preseason poll, Hillsdale enters conference play this weekend at Lake Erie looking strong both offensively and defensively, and will seek to get off to a strong start against the Storm.
Lake Erie, which finished 11th in the G-MAC in the last full season in 2019, went 4-13 in non-conference play this spring, picking up two wins over Notre Dame (OH) and a victory over Davenport.
Senior outfielder Chloe Allen leads the Storm at the plate, hitting .339 so far with three doubles and five RBIs, and fellow senior and utility player Leah Buck brings the power to the lineup for Lake Erie, leading the Storm in home runs (3) and RBIs (8) while hitting .288.
On the mound, sophomores Grace Hammer and Carly Rowland are the regular starters for the Storm. Hammer is 2-6 with 52 strikeouts and a 4.31 ERA in nine appearances on the year, while Rowland is 1-5 with 31 strikeouts and a 6.84 ERA in nine appearances as well.
Hillsdale went 6-3 on a southern Spring Break trip to improve to 12-10 on the year and enters G-MAC play with a lot of momentum as the Chargers seek a third straight G-MAC tournament title and their first regular season crown.
With two-time G-MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week Dana Weidinger on the mound, Hillsdale has a chance in every contest, as Weidinger is 9-3 with a 1.98 ERA and 54 strikeouts to 14 walks this season. Freshman Erin Kapteyn is also coming on strong, improve to 3-1 with a couple of strong outings last week and posting a 3.33 ERA to start her career.
At the plate, senior Sam Catron is the defending G-MAC field player of the week and is leading the team in batting average (.333), total hits (23), and home runs (4) this season. Junior Renee Bielawa also is playing well at the halfway point of the season, batting .323 with six doubles, two home runs and a team leading 17 RBIs, and senior Madison Stoner is hitting north of .300 (.306) with 15 RBIs as well.