The Hillsdale College softball team put together one of the finest single-day pitching performances in program history to sweep visiting Malone on Saturday at sunny Johnny Williams Field.
The Chargers shut out the Pioneers across the doubleheader in 4-0 and 3-0 victories, as starters Joni Russell and Erin Kapteyn were both sensational in the circle to help the Chargers improve to 8-2 in G-MAC play.
Russell had a historic effort in her game one start, striking out 19 of the 24 batters she faced to earn her third straight shutout in G-MAC play and improve to 11-4 overall. Russell's 19 strikeouts in a single game surpass Sarah DeAngelo's 18 in a 1-0 victory over Kalamazoo College on April 11, 2001 as the recorded high mark all-time in Hillsdale College history, though full game-by-game statistical records are not available for the 80s and 90s.
The sophomore dominated from start to finish, striking out the side in four of the seven innings, walking just two batters, and with a sixth inning infield single as the only thing preventing her from her first career collegiate no-hitter.
The Chargers scored the only run they needed in the contest in the first inning, as Hillsdale cashed in Holtman's leadoff double on a fielder's choice from Emma Vis to score the junior from third base after a single by freshman Emma Sather moved her over.
Hannah Hoverman tacked on a second run with a RBI double to left field to score McKenna Eichholz in the bottom of the second, and the Chargers tacked on two more insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth on a RBI single by Vis and a sacrifice fly by Jenna Cantalupo.
Sather finished 2 for 2 with a double to lead the Chargers at the plate as Hillsdale scored four runs on seven hits.
In the second game, Kapteyn picked up where Russell left off, striking out seven, walking one and giving up just four hits in a complete game shutout of the Pioneers for her seventh win of the season. Malone started the contest with two hits in their first three at bats, but after working her way out of that early jam, Kapteyn cruised to the finish line, letting Malone get a runner in scoring position just once after the first inning.
With another dominant pitching effort in the circle, Hillsdale pulled ahead for good in the bottom of the second hitting, as pinch hitter Anna Chellman delivered a clutch two-out single to shallow center field with the bases loaded that scored two runs. The Chargers tacked on a third run in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Grace Wallner stole home on a first-and-third play on the bases to give Hillsdale a 3-0 lead it would hold to the end.
With the victories, Hillsdale improves to 21-14 overall, 8-2 in the G-MAC, and move into a four-way tie for second place behind undefeated Ohio Dominican in the standings. The Chargers have a busy week ahead coming off of Easter Sunday, traveling to Davenport on Monday for a non-conference doubleheader before heading south to Trevecca Nazarene on Friday for a doubleheader with critical G-MAC title implications.
Photo by Regan Meyer