It wasn't the easy way to become a champion, but that just made the the final result all the more rewarding for the Hillsdale College softball team on Saturday.
Coming in undefeated to Saturday's G-MAC Tournament Championship Game, second-seeded Hillsdale suffered a heartbreaking loss in the first game of the day, against fifth-seeded Findlay, 3-2 in extra innings to reset the bracket and set up a winner-take-all final game later that afternoon.
Undeterred, however, Hillsdale came back swinging in the decisive contest, rolling past the Oilers in a 9-1 run-rule game, and making history in the process.
Never before in G-MAC Tournament history had a team come through the winner's bracket, suffered a loss in the first game of the finals, and then bounced back to win the nightcap and claim the title, but the Chargers showed the mental toughness and resiliency of a champion to do just that on Saturday.
After three scoreless innings to start the final game as Hillsdale shook off the previous heartbreaker, the Chargers got back-to-back clutch hits in the top of the fourth inning, as freshman Maggie Olaveson hit a two out double to get on base, and sophomore Hannah Hoverman bounced a ground ball over the first baseman's head and into right field to score Olaveson and give the Chargers a 1-0 lead.
The spell broken, Hillsdale pounced in the top of the fifth, loading the bases with no outs for senior Jenna Cantalupo. Cantalupo, whose two-run home run had powered Hillsdale past Findlay on Friday and into the championship game in the first place, came through with another huge hit, blasting a ball over the left-field fence for a game-changing grand slam. Olaveson hit a solo shot to left field as well in the same inning to turn a tight one-run game into a 6-0 Hillsdale advantage.
The Chargers kept the pressure on in the top of the sixth, pushing the game into run-rule territory on a RBI single by Grace Wallner and a two-run double by McKenna Eichholz to give Hillsdale a 9-0 edge. Findlay did its best to stay alive in the bottom of the sixth, breaking the shutout with a run, but Hillsdale ace Joni Russell finished off her third win of the tournament with two strikeouts and a grounder to shortstop Hailey Holtman that Holtman threw to Cantalupo to clinch the title.
Russell was sensational again on the mound for the Chargers in the final victory, bouncing back from a tough extra-inning loss that saw her walk in the game-winning run by pitching six masterful innings with five strikeouts and just four hits and one earned run conceded to clinch the title.
Hillsdale nearly won the first game as well, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead on a two-run single by Eichholz in the bottom of the first inning.
But Findlay tied the game on a two-run home run in the top of the fourth and Hillsdale couldn't capitalize on multiple opportunities to pull ahead, stranding the go-ahead run at third in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings.
That left the door open for the Oilers in the eighth, as Findlay loaded the bases and drew a two-out walk to take the lead. Olaveson hit a double in the bottom of the inning and advanced to third on a fly-out, but Hillsdale couldn't get her across as Findlay took the win and forced the winner-take-all game.
Hillsdale out-hit Findlay 9-4 in the loss, including a 3 for 4 outing by Cantalupo, a triple by Holtman and a double by freshman Taylor Lewis.
Junior Erin Kapteyn got the start for the Chargers and was pitching a shutout with just one baserunner allowed entering the fourth inning, when the Oilers drew a lead-off walk and got the tying home run in the very next at-bat. Russell came in in relief and pitched the final four and one-third innings, striking out six and giving up just two hits in the loss.
Thanks to her two critical home runs and a strong hitting performance throughout the tournament, Jenna Cantalupo was named Tournament MVP, with Russell, Eichholz, Holtman and Emma Sather joining her on the All-Tournament team.
The G-MAC Tournament Championship is Hillsdale's third in its six years in the G-MAC, and its first since 2019, securing Hillsdale's fourth NCAA DII Tournament appearance in six years and its fifth in program history as well. A young team with a small roster and just one senior, the Chargers grew throughout the season and now sit at 35-19 overall.
Hillsdale now waits to find out where it will be headed for NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional play, scheduled to begin on Thursday, May 11. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on NCAA.com at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 8.
Photo by Meredith Wipper/Courtesy of Findlay Athletics