The Hillsdale College softball team rallied from a tough game one loss to split a doubleheader at home on Wednesday against Northwood, and remain in the G-MAC title conversation with eight games still to play.
After being shut out in the first game, Hillsdale jumped out to an early lead in a 5-1 victory in the second contest, loading the bases in the bottom of the first inning and scoring on a sacrifice fly by freshman Anna Chellman to drive in junior Hailey Holtman and give the Chargers a 1-0 advantage.
Hillsdale added another run on a sacrifice fly by Emma Vis in the bottom of the third, and the Chargers pulled away in the fourth inning, going up 3-0 on a RBI double by junior McKenna Eichholz to score Chellman and tacking on another run on a Northwood error.
The timberwolves got a run back on a solo home run in the top of the sixth, but an Ashley Strick double to left field that scored Eichholz in the bottom of the inning put Hillsdale back up four runs, and a 1-2-3 inning for Chargers starting pitcher Erin Kapteyn sealed the victory.
Kapteyn, the defending G-MAC Pitcher of the Week, was sensational again on Wednesday, pitching a complete game for her 10th win of the season, striking out six, walking none and giving up just one earned run on the solo home run in the sixth inning.
Hailey Holtman was 2 for 3 at the plate in the second game to lead the Chargers.
Hillsdale hit the ball hard in game one as well, outhitting Northwood eight to three, but couldn't find a timely hit when it needed to push a run across in a 2-0 loss.
The Chargers stranded seven runners in the contest and were doubled off three times, including in the bottom of the seventh inning when a leadoff double by Chellman and a walk drawn by freshman Maggie Olaveson gave the the Chargers two runners with no outs and the walk-off run at the plate.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, punished both of Hillsdale's defensive miscues, turning Hillsdale's two errors in the game into two unearned runs to take the victory.
Emma Sather went 3 for 3 to lead the Chargers at the plate in the loss, Jenna Cantalupo chipped in two hits and Olaveson added a double.
Joni Russell was the hard-luck loser in the circle for Hillsdale, taking the loss despite not conceding an earned run in seven innings of work. Russell struck out seven batters, walked five and surrendered just three hits in a narrow loss.
Hillsdale is now 26-17 overall and 12-4 in the G-MAC, and the Chargers are now two games of Ohio Dominican (14-2), the top team in the conference standings, and a game back of Trevecca Nazarene (13-3). The Chargers still have a real shot of making up that ground on both the Panthers and Trojans, as both teams still have to play each other, and Hillsdale gets Ohio Dominican for two games to end the season on April 30, but Hillsdale will need a very strong finish, starting this Saturday with a doubleheader at Lake Erie.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan