SCHEDULE
#5 Hillsdale College (31-17) vs #4 Trevecca Nazarene (26-12) | 11 a.m. ET Wednesday, May 19 | GVSU Softball Field – Allendale, MI | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
Championship Central (links to video and live stats for all games) | Full Bracket | 2021 Hillsdale Stats
Information
The 2021 NCAA Division II softball Midwest Regional is hosted by Grand Valley St. University in Allendale, Michigan. Above, you can find links to the main championship webpage for the event, as well as a full bracket for the regional.
All games will have live stats and will be broadcast for free by Grand Valley St. University. The links for the first contest involving Hillsdale are above, and links for subsequent games can be found at the Championship Central webpage, as well as on hillsdalechargers.com as the events are added to the schedule.
GVSU is currently allowing 250 fans per event for softball. Bleacher seating is limited, so fans are encouraged to bring foldable chairs to sit along the fence line in the outfield.
Each game played will have its own ticket. If your team plays twice in one day, you would need to purchase tickets for both games. Fans will be asked to leave the bleacher area at the conclusion of each game for cleaning. purchase/show new digital ticket, and then can reenter the bleacher area. Digital purchasing is strongly encouraged ahead of time to help speed up the flow of traffic at the ticket entrance.
The ticket link for the opener against Trevecca Nazarene is above. Tickets for subsequent games can be purchased ahead of time at https://gvsutickets.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx.
All fans will be expected to complete a Covid-19 Self-Assessment prior to admittance into the stadium. You can find the link to complete the self-assessment at https://www.gvsu.edu/hro/selfassessment-visitor-edit.htm.
Charger Outlook
The Hillsdale College softball team is in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional for the fourth time in program history, and the third time in the last four years, earning the fifth-seed in the 2021 edition.
For the first time, however, Hillsdale has made the tourney with an at-large bid. In all three previous seasons (1991, 2018, 2019), the Chargers earned the automatic bid as the champion of their conference or conference tournament.
This season, a 31-17 record that ranks up there with some of the best in school history proved to be enough. The Chargers tested themselves throughout the season, playing eight teams that qualified for the 48-team Division II Tournament field, as well as three more teams who were among the 64 ranked in the final regional rankings, and their record in those contests help propel them into the field this year.
Fueling the Chargers' success is a record-setting offensive season. Hillsdale already has broken the single-season program record for home runs (36), RBIs (260) and walks drawn (140), tied the record in doubles (88) and is on pace to break records for runs scored as well.
At the plate, seniors Sam Catron and Madison Stoner are both having excellent seasons. Catron, a first-team All-Midwest Region honoree by the NFCA, has 14 home runs, just one off the single-season school record of 15, and also is batting .400 with a team-best 64 total hits. At 20 doubles and 47 RBIs on the year, Catron needs just one more double and three more RBIs this weekend to break those single-season school records.
Stoner, a second-team All-Midwest Region honoree, has been on a tear at the plate, leading the Chargers in batting average (.460) and on-base percentage (.527) with eight doubles, a triple and eight home runs. Stoner's slugging percentage, if maintained through the end of the season, would be the fifth -highest in a single season in program history.
Seven Chargers in total are hitting above .300 for the season, including senior Natalie Stepanenko and junior Renee Bielawa, who have combined for 26 doubles and 59 RBIs on the season. Stepanenko earned first-team All-G-MAC honors for the Chargers, and Bielawa earned second-team All-G-MAC and All-Midwest Region as well.
While the Chargers have been strong offensively, their pitching and defense have more than held up their end of the bargain, as well.
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 20-5 with a 2.10 ERA and 131 strikeouts to 37 walks this season. Junior Camryn Olson, freshman Erin Kapteyn and senior Julia Sayles give the Chargers solid options as starters when Weidinger is resting.
Defensively, the Chargers are posting a .962 fielding percentage, a mark that would be fifth-best in school history if maintained through the end of the season.
The Opening Matchup
The Chargers certainly aren't opening up the Midwest Regional against an unfamiliar foe. Wednesday's opening round contest against Trevecca Nazarene will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams, the most of any opponent Hillsdale has played this year. The Chargers are 2-1 against Trevecca this season, though the Trojans won the most recent meeting 5-3 to knock Hillsdale out of the G-MAC Tournament.
The G-MAC regular season champion in 2021, Trevecca has an excellent offense built around senior infielder and first-team All-Midwest Region player MaKray Odom, who's hitting .484 with seven doubles and 23 RBIs.
Sophomore infielder/pitcher Carly Sperlich, also a first-team All-Region player, brings power to the Trojan lineup with a team-high eight doubles, nine home runs and 36 RBIs on the season, junior outfielder/catcher Lenna Robinson is hitting .379, and freshman Malone Thrift is hitting .370 as well for Trevecca.
On the mound, the Trojans have leaned heavily on senior Raygn Hall and sophomore Alexis Behnke. Hall shook off a slow start and is currently 13-9-1 with 73 strikeouts and a 2.73 ERA in 19 starts, and Behnke has been solid as well, going 11-2 with a 3.50 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 16 starts.
In their first doubleheader this season, on April 17, the Charger offense pounded Hall for 13 hits in an 8-0 win in six innings, and also had success against Behnke in the nightcap, scoring four early runs to force Hall to come back in relief. Trevecca nearly rallied late in the second contest, but the Trojans fell 6-5 to give Hillsdale a doubleheader sweep.
Trevecca turned the tables in their tourney meeting, with Behnke holding Hillsdale to three runs on six hits in five innings and Hall closing the game with two scoreless innings. The Trojans used a five-run fifth inning to overcome a 3-0 deficit and knock the Chargers out of the G-MAC tournament.
With shared history and high stakes for both teams, Wednesday's matchup should be an exciting one to watch.
The Other Contenders
#1 Grand Valley (41-7): The host Lakers would be Hillsdale's opponent at 11 a.m. on Thursday if the Chargers were to get past Trevecca in the opener. GVSU earned the top seed in the region by rampaging through the GLIAC, winning the league by seven full games over runner-up Northwood, and enter the Regional on a 12-game winning streak.
As befitting the top seed, the Lakers boast a scary lineup, led by GLIAC Player of the Year Nikoma Holmen, who enters hitting .392 with 12 doubles, nine home runs and a team-high 50 RBIs. GVSU has additional solid bats in G-MAC Freshman of the Year Megan Koenigshof (.363 batting average), Lydia Goble (.360, 12 doubles, six home runs) and Taylor Rieger (.307, 10 doubles, four home runs), among others.
If Hillsdale gets to Thursday, they'll likely see GVSU ace Hannah Beatus, who is 21-1 on the year with eight shutouts, 162 strikeouts, and a 1.10 ERA. The GLIAC Pitcher of the Year, Beatus is holding opponents to a .189 batting average this season.
The Chargers battled the Lakers closely in a tight 2-0 loss early in the season on Feb. 21, outhitting GVSU 6-5 but unable to match a two-run single in the bottom of the third.
#2 Indianapolis (43-6): An excellent season that included a dominant 26-2 mark in GLVC play has Indianapolis looking like a real contender this weekend. The Greyhounds also captured the GLVC Tourney title, though a 3-2 loss to Rockhurst early on in the tourney likely cost UIndy the top seed this weekend.
UIndy's pitching staff is the strength of its squad. GLVC Pitcher of the Year Hallie Waters in 20-3 with 159 strikeouts, 10 shutouts and a 1.62 ERA in 29 appearances, and GLVC Freshman of the Year Kenzee Smith has arguably been even better, with a 22-2 record, 164 strikeouts, eight shutouts and a 0.96 ERA in 27 appearances.
Offensively, the Hounds are led by GLVC Player of the Year Gianni Iannantone, who batted .377 with 11 doubles, nine home runs and 50 RBIs this season. Brook Montgomery also batted .351 with 17 doubles and five home runs for UIndy, and Lexy Reeds and Emily O'Connor each chipped in nine home runs and Taylor Danielson 14 home run as well for a potent offense.
#3 Northwood (29-14)
The Timberwolves could be a real dark horse contender in the Regional, with a runner-up finish in the GLIAC and at least one win over four of the five teams in the region, including both of the top two seeds.
Northwood is led at the plate by senior shortstop Julia Gross, who hit .307 with a team high 14 doubles, seven home runs and 41 RBIs. Maddie Coulter (.341, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 6 home runs), Grace Dutoi (.384, 13 doubles) and Tara Gross (.390, 9 doubles, two home runs) also star for a strong lineup.
First-team All-GLIAC pitcher Shayna Frank has been excellent on the mound for the Timberwolves, posting an 18-7 record with 138 strikeouts and a 2.43 ERA. When Frank hasn't been on the mound, Northwood has turned to Taylor Wright, with a 7-1 record and a 2.93 ERA in 12 starts.
The Timberwolves won a 7-0 victory over Hillsdale in an early-season meeting on Feb. 20, holding the Chargers to just four hits. Frank was dominant in the start, pitching a complete game with four strikeouts, and Coulter and Dutoi each had a home run as well.
#6 Ohio Dominican (28-16): The Panthers earned their spot in the Midwest Regional by winning the G-MAC Tournament as the six seed and claiming the automatic bid, going undefeated through the tourney. ODU has had an up and down season but owns wins over three of the other five teams in the bracket.
Sophomore infielder Braxton Downs leads the Panthers at the plate with a team-high 10 doubles, 12 home runs and 37 RBIs. Senior outfielder/first baseman Carson Hackard is also having an impressive year for ODU, batting .361 with 18 extra-base hits and 25 RBIs, and senior outfielder Kristen Bales has chipped in 10 doubles, five triples and 22 RBIs as well.
The strength of the Panthers is their pitching staff. Junior Sydney Long has started 21 games and made six relief appearances, posting a 2.07 ERA with 139 strikeouts and a 17-9 record. Sophomore Olivia Rettke has been a solid second starter as well, starting 11 games with a 2.67 ERA, a 6-4 record and three saves in eight relief appearances.
Hillsdale split with ODU in the final regular season doubleheader for both teams, with the Chargers taking the first game 7-1 behind a dominant start by Weidinger, and the Panthers winning the second game 3-1 with a strong pitching performance of their own.
Chargers in the NCAA Tournament
Hillsdale is 2-6 in three previous NCAA Tournament appearances. In their first trip in 1991, the Chargers fell 4-1 to St. Cloud and 4-1 to eventual DII National Champion Augustana, with a 3-1 victory over Nebraska-Omaha in between.
The Chargers' other victory came in 2018, in a 1-0 upset of top-seeded Grand Valley St. to open the tournament. Hillsdale lost to another eventual national champion, Southern Indiana, 9-0 and then lost to GVSU, 7-0, in the rematch to end their run.
In Hillsdale's most recent appearance, in 2019, the Chargers dropped a 6-1 opener to GVSU and then took an 8-2 loss to Wayne St. in an elimination game.