In a must-win series for a team with G-MAC title and NCAA Tourney bid ambitions, the Hillsdale College softball team played its best doubleheader of the season to crush host Ohio Dominican in a huge G-MAC showdown on Sunday.
The formidable Panthers came in with a 26-8 overall record and big ambitions of their own, but were declawed almost completely by Hillsdale's pitching staff in a decisive victory for the Chargers in a showdown between the top two team ERAs in the G-MAC. Ohio Dominican managed no runs and just eight hits in 14 innings against Hillsdale pitchers Joni Russell and Erin Kapteyn.
Russell got the Chargers started with a dominant start in a 6-0 victory in the first game, going all seven innings and conceding just two hits and no walks while striking out 15 of the 22 batters she faced. ODU never had a runner in scoring position at any point in the contest. With her fifth strikeout of the game in the third inning, the junior and returning All-American officially made history, surpassing Trevecca Nazarene's Haley Fagan as the all-time strikeouts leader in G-MAC history, then kept going to finish the game at 627 for her career.
With Russell dealing in the circle, Hillsdale didn't need much offense to get the victory, but the Chargers also had a big game at the plate. Hillsdale jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning with three clutch hits with two outs, including a two-run double by junior Emma Vis and a RBI single by Hannah Hoverman to take a 3-0 lead.
Hoverman continued to press the advantage for the Chargers at the plate, adding to Hillsdale's lead with a RBI double in the top of the third inning, then blasting a two-run home run over the centerfield fence in the top of the fifth to all but put the game away. Hoverman finished the contest 3 for 4 at the plate and a triple away from hitting for the cycle, Vis was 2 for 2 with two doubles, and Maggie Olaveson hit a double as well.
The victory put Hillsdale in position for the Chargers' first sweep of ODU since 2018, and Kapteyn made sure to seal the deal in the nightcap. The senior matched Russell with a shutout of her own in a 5-0 win over the Panthers, her sixth of the season and 13th of her career at Hillsdale. Kapteyn needed just 70 pitches to go all seven innings, striking out four, walking one and scattering six hits while keeping runners in scoring position from reaching home in the second, third and fourth innings.
At the plate, senior Hailey Holtman started the scoring for the Chargers in the top of the second innning with a RBI single to give Hillsdale an early 1-0 advantage, and put an exclamation point on the sweep with a two-run home run to left field in the top of the sixth. Hoverman also added a RBI single in the top of the sixth for her fifth RBI of the day, and Grace Wallner drove in a run on a sacrifice but in the same inning as well as Hillsdale turned a 1-0 advantage into a runaway 5-0 victory.
The Chargers are now 28-12 overall, 14-4 in G-MAC play, and the sweep solidifies Hillsdale's grip on second place in the G-MAC standings behind Trevecca Nazarene while also giving the Chargers two quality road wins that greatly enhance Hillsdale's tournament resume. Hillsdale returns home this weekend with four conference contests on Saturday and Sunday, beginning with a doubleheader against Lake Erie on Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m., followed by Senior Day festivities on Sunday against Ursuline, looking to keep rolling and remain in contention into the final week of play.
Photo by Reva Ludwig