The goal of any collegiate athletic program is to get to the point where there's no such thing as a rebuilding year – just reloading for another run.
That's the point the Hillsdale College softball team appeared to reach in 2023, as the Chargers came into the season with uncertain prospects and left it as a title-winning team and regional contender for fifth full season in a row.
The Chargers entered 2023 needing to fill massive holes in the lineup after six of their top nine hitters departed from a dream 2022 season, and just four field players with significant experience returned. Injuries and other attrition reduced that number even further.
But Hillsdale barely seemed fazed by the adversity. The Chargers leaned heavily on a dominant pitching staff helmed by two players that are quickly staking their claim as all-time greats at Hillsdale, sophomore Joni Russell and junior Erin Kapteyn. The pair led a staff that posted a stellar 1.71 ERA – the ninth best in the entire nation at the NCAA DII level and a Great Midwest Athletic Conference record.
Kapteyn became the first Chargers pitcher since 2012 to throw a no-hitter, shutting out Queens (NY) on March 11, and earned All-G-MAC honors for the second straight season. Russell, meanwhile, built upon an excellent freshman season by becoming one of the best pitchers in the nation, earning consensus All-American honors and the G-MAC Pitcher of the Year award while finishing fourth in the nation in ERA (0.76) and fifth in strikeouts with a school-record 268. Russell's 19 strikeouts in a 4-0 victory over Malone on April 8 also set a single-game program record.
Hillsdale's dominant pitching helped the Chargers to 35 wins, the third-most in program history, and an extremely young offense came through when it mattered. Returners Hailey Holtman and McKenna Eichholz had career seasons for the Chargers, and paired well with breakout years from junior Grace Wallner and sophomore Emma Vis. Every member of Hillsdale's seven-player freshman class contributed to the run, building valuable experience for the future.
It all came together in a magical May weekend in Findlay, as Hillsdale rolled to its third G-MAC Tournament title in six seasons. Russell and Kapteyn held opponents to just five runs and four earned runs across five games, while senior Jenna Cantalupo led the Chargers offense to a big weekend, hitting a two-run home run against Findlay in a 4-0 victory to reach the championship game, and a grand slam to break open the title game in a 9-1 run rule victory over the Oilers the next day. For her play, Cantalupo was named the Tournament MVP, a wonderful capper to a great career with the Chargers.
A huge 2023 bodes well for Hillsdale heading into 2024, as a young squad bids farewell to just Cantalupo and returns every other player from a 35-win team that made the NCAA Tournament, while adding a strong freshman class. Having established the program as a year-in, year-out contender, the Chargers will be working hard over the summer and looking to take the next step as a team in 2024.