A solid showing at the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic this past weekend helped the Hillsdale College Softball team sweep this week's G-MAC Softball awards.
Sophomore Joni Russell was named G-MAC Pitcher of the Week and junior Grace Wallner earned G-MAC Position Player of the Week honors for their performance in the three-day invitational in Columbus, Georgia. It's the third weekly conference award of Russell's career, and Wallner's first time receiving a weekly conference honor.
Russell was dominant for the Chargers on the mound while going 3-0 in her three starts this weekend, striking out 36 batters to just four walks and putting up a 0.47 ERA in 19 innings pitched. The sophomore threw a one-hitter in a 8-0 win over Gannon and gave up just two hits to a solid Georgia Southwestern team in a 5-1 victory on Sunday to close out the tournament.
Expectations were high for Russell coming off a freshman year where she struck out 160 batters and earned first-team All-G-MAC honors, but, even so, based on this past weekend, the sophomore still looks significantly improved over where she was last season -- a terrifying thought, to be sure, for opposing teams yet to face the Chargers this season.
Wallner, meanwhile, had a breakout weekend down in Georgia,going 8 of 14 at the plate with five RBIs, a double and two home runs. The junior third baseman recorded a hit in every one of Hillsdale's five games, and played an instrumental role in the Chargers' 4-1 win over Bridgeport, scoring the go-ahead run on a double and adding a solo home run in the sixth inning, and also in Hillsdale's 5-1 win over Georgia Southwestern, hitting a three-run home run that gave the Chargers a multi-run lead it wouldn't relinquish.
It was a huge showing for Wallner, entering her first season as a full-time starter this spring. If Wallner can continue to hit for both average and power, it will be a needed lift for a young Chargers offense still learning and building as the season goes on.
Hillsdale (4-5) heads to Springfield, Illinois for four big regional games against foes from the GLVC at the UIS Invite this weekend for its next contests.
Photos by Dan Hines