It's been a historic season for Hillsdale College softball pitcher Joni Russell, and the honors continue to pour in.
The latest for the sophomore came on Wednesday, as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced their 2023 All-Region teams for the NCAA DII level. Russell was one of three pitchers named to the All-Midwest Region first team, joining Grand Valley State senior Hannah Beatus and Indianapolis' Kenzee Smith, both multi-time All-Americans, in receiving the honor. As a recipent of an All-Region award, Russell also is eligible for consideration for All-American honors through the NFCA, with those honorees to be announced later this month.
It's elite company for Russell, and it's a group she belongs in after what is a strong contender for the best pitching campaign by a Hillsdale College player in program history in 2023. The sophomore helped lead Hillsdale to a G-MAC Tournament title and NCAA DII Tournament appearance with a 19-8 record and two saves in 32 appearances. Along the way, she shattered the program's previous record for single-season strikeouts with 266 to date, 50 more than the old record set by Danielle Stiene in 2015, and her 0.70 ERA is the second-lowest in program history.
Russell also has eight shutouts in 2023, one shy of the program record for a single season, and she also broke a program single-game record for strikeouts with 19 in a 4-0 victory over Malone on April 8. Russell's played a major in the Chargers setting the G-MAC record for ERA as a team with a mark of 1.65, a number that ranks ninth nationally. Russell's ERA of 0.70 also ranks fourth in the nation at the NCAA DII level, and her 266 strikeouts rank fifth.
In just two seasons as a Charger, Russell has put herself in position to challenge multiple career records at Hillsdale. Her 426 strikeouts are already second all-time, behind Sarah DeAngelo's total of 474, and her 12 career shutouts rank fourth. She's also tied for seventh in career wins with 33, and all without yet cracking the top 10 in innings pitched.
Russell is just the fourth pitcher in Hillsdale College history to receive All-Region honors, and the first to make the first team. She's in line for potential additional recognition, both from the NFCA as it plans to hand out its All-American honors later this month, and from the D2CCA, which will also award All-Region and All-American honors in the weeks to come.
First, however, Russell and Hillsdale aim to extend their season tomorrow in the NCAA DII Midwest Regional. Coming off a hard-fought 1-0 loss to top-seeded UIndy, Hillsdale plays fifth-seeded Illinois-Springfield on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Baumgarten Stadium at the UIndy campus in an elimination contest. The winner would play again against the loser of the contest between UIndy and Lewis in the morning in order to earn a spot in Saturday's championship game.