Schedule
Hillsdale College (23-11, 9-3 G-MAC) at Tiffin (20-16, 6-6 G-MAC) | 12 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 10 | Paradiso Athletic Complex – Tiffin, OH
Hillsdale College (23-11, 9-3 G-MAC) at Tiffin (20-16, 6-6 G-MAC) | 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 10 | Paradiso Athletic Complex – Tiffin, OH
Hillsdale College (23-11, 9-3 G-MAC) at Ashland (14-17, 8-6 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, April 13 | Archer Ballpark Complex – Ashland, OH
Hillsdale College (23-11, 9-3 G-MAC) at Ashland (14-17, 8-6 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. ET Saturday, April 13 | Archer Ballpark Complex – Ashland, OH
Hillsdale College (23-11, 9-3 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (24-8, 12-4 G-MAC) | 12 p.m. ET Sunday, April 14 | Panther Field – Columbus, OH
Hillsdale College (23-11, 9-3 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (24-8, 12-4 G-MAC) | 2 p.m. ET Sunday, April 14 | Panther Field – Columbus, OH
Links
Live stats | Hillsdale Roster | Tiffin Roster | Ashland Roster | ODU Roster | 2024 Hillsdale Stats | 2024 Tiffin Stats | 2024 Ashland Stats | 2024 ODU Stats | G-MAC Softball Standings | G-MAC Softball Stats
Outlook
Hillsdale College navigated a home weekend in the increasingly treacherous G-MAC with a 3-1 record, improving to 9-3 in conference play and remaining in the thick of the title race just behind leader Trevecca Nazarene. The Chargers now prepare for a road week that's make-or-break for their title hopes with three doubleheaders against teams in line to make the G-MAC Tourney, including another serious G-MAC title contender in Ohio Dominican.
Hillsdale kicks things off on Wednesday with a midweek doubleheader against a dangerous Tiffin team that at 6-6 in G-MAC play is currently fighting to stay on the right side of the G-MAC Tourney bubble. It's a high stakes game for both squads as they fight for positioning on a crowded G-MAC leaderboard.
The Dragons have a strong team at the plate on paper as young talent that includes returning All-G-MAC honorees Maci Head, Aubrie Harper and Molly Koesters continues to mature. Head is a fearsome power hitter with 14 extra base hits, five home runs and 26 RBIs, but freshman outfielder Baylee Mirgon has done damage as well with four home runs and 21 RBIs, and the Dragons' most impressive hitter might be freshman Reagan Mengerink, who leads the team with a .412 batting average, 12 doubles and 29 RBIs. Another part of the team's youth movement, freshman Jules King, is also off to a strong start in G-MAC play.
King also has impressed in the circle, seizing the ace role for the Dragons with a 2.95 ERA, a 10-5 record, and 120 strikeouts in 23 appearances. Last year's ace, senior Claire Feldkamp, remains a potent force as well for Tiffin, with a 3.32 ERA and 77 strikeouts as well. Freshman Lexi Key and veteran arm Isabella St. Peter also are options out of the bullpen for Tiffin.
On Saturday Hillsdale gets another tricky road assignment against an Ashland squad that, like Tiffin, is starting to hit its stride as its young talent reaches their primes. The Eagles have been middle of the pack at the plate so far in the G-MAC, but that belies some dangerous hitters in the lineup who can cause real problems for opponents. Sophomore Danielle Robbins is a returning first-team All-G-MAC player who's hitting .330 for the Eagles this season, while freshman Delaney Maynard also is leading Ashland in virtually every category with 14 extra base hits and 22 RBIs. Sophomore Cassidy Shaffer, also a returning All-G-MAC honoree, is off to a great start in conference play as well, hitting .452 against G-MAC foes.
In the circle, the Eagles are deep, with four different pitchers earning starts in G-MAC play. Sophomore Delaney Lis leads the Eagles with 11 starts and a 3.39 ERA, while Otterbein transfer Bryn Grabowski has the team's best ERA at 2.80 and the best record at 5-4 in 10 starts. Both Madison Milligan and Shaffer have each started at least four games for Ashland as well with solid numbers, giving the Eagles plenty of options to throw against the Chargers.
Hillsdale finishes the week with a huge showdown with Ohio Dominican, the defending regular-season champions and one of four teams in strong position to contend for the title this year with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Despite the graduation of 2023 G-MAC Player of the Year Braxton Downs, the Panthers retain an extremely formidable lineup, headlined by returning All-Conference shortstop Alexis Stevens, who leads the team in both doubles (14) and RBIs (34). Fellow returning All-G-MAC players Alli Madden and Kaleigh Golden are both hitting above .360 as well, while DI transfers Emily Walker (Ohio U.) and Lindsey Potter (Ohio State) bring added heat to a lineup that's dangerous from top to bottom.
Ohio Dominican also has one of the G-MAC's best pitching staffs, with three All-G-MAC pitchers from 2023 on the 2024 squad. Sophomore Marlee Jacobs was the team's ace in 2024 and remains a tough arm with a 2.94 ERA and an 8-2 record, while senior Addison Smodilla is having her best year on the mound with a 2.18 ERA and a 9-2 record. As good as those two players have been, the best pitcher on ODU's staff might be Lake Erie transfer Grace Hammer, who has an impressive 1.45 ERA and 90 strikeouts to 10 walks in 19 appearances. All three should factor in to Sunday's doubleheader.
Hillsdale entered the 2024 season with one of the best one-two punches on the mound in the nation at the NCAA DII level, and that's played out mostly as expected so far. Junior Joni Russell is a consensus returning All-American that finished in the top five in the country in both strikeouts and ERA and earned G-MAC Pitcher of the Year honors in 2023, and senior Erin Kapteyn also capped a year that saw her put up a 1.95 ERA and record 13 wins with her second-straight All-G-MAC honor. Together with junior Emma Vis and sophomore Mackenzi Maxson, the group set a G-MAC record with a 1.71 staff ERA in 2023, and all four players return in 2024.
Russell has been her usual excellent self so far in 2024, earning Wilson/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honors to start March, setting the Hillsdale College career strikeouts record and entering the weekend with an 12-5 record in 15 starts, 156 strikeouts and a 1.40 ERA. Kapteyn has been rock solid as well with a 2.63 ERA, four shutouts, 10 wins and two saves. As a team the Chargers are at a solid 2.35 ERA so far this season, close to both ODU and Trevecca Nazarene for the top ERA in the G-MAC in 2024 .
Hillsdale's offense also seems to be heating up after a slow start to the season, with the Chargers now hitting .289 as a team. Freshman Sydney Davis is off to a great start in her first season at Hillsdale, hitting .373 with seven doubles, and sophomore Maggie Olaveson has also impressed, batting .346 and leading the Chargers with 10 doubles and eight home runs while also contributing 20 RBIs. Seniors McKenna Eichholz and Grace Wallner have made an impact, with Eichholz putting up a team-leading 23 RBIs, while Wallner is batting .340 and has nine doubles as well.
In addition to those three players, juniors Emma Vis and Hannah Hoverman have flashed power, with nine combined home runs. As a team, the Chargers have 21 home runs, including four this past weekend, putting them on pace to exceed the totals of the last two years.
Hillsdale has a 15-14 record against Tiffin since 2010, but has dominated the series recently with seven straight wins over the Dragons, including sweeping doubleheaders in each of the last three seasons. Ashland has a 12-11 lead in its series with Hillsdale since 2011, but also hasn't beaten the Chargers in six tries, getting swept in doubleheaders in each of the last two seasons and falling to Hillsdale 3-0 in the 2023 G-MAC Tournament. Hillsdale leads its series with Ohio Dominican 16-11 since 2011, but it's been a tight series, with the two teams splitting each of the last three full seasons in the G-MAC. Hillsdale is 2-1 against Ohio Dominican in three postseason meetings since the 2019 season.
Photo by Reva Ludwig