After taking a loss in the doubleheader opener on Saturday, the Hillsdale College softball team trailed late in the second game against visiting Cedarville and looked to be on the way to getting swept by the Yellow Jackets.
But the Chargers showed their mettle, rallying from deficits in both the sixth and seventh innings and walking off on a RBI single by senior Elaine Townley that scored the winning run in a 10-9 victory to split the day with Cedarville.
Hillsdale trailed 8-6 entering the bottom of the sixth inning, but took advantage of a Yellow Jacket throwing error and a wild pitch to plate two runs and tie the game. Cedarville retook the lead in the top of the seventh, 9-8, on a Charger error, but with runners on the corners, relief pitcher Joni Russell struck out the side to keep Hillsdale's hopes alive as they came up to bat for the final time.
In the bottom of the seventh, Cedarville had Hillsdale down to its last out, and, multiple times, to its last strike, but the Chargers refused to fold. Senior Natalie Stepanenko hit a two-out single and advanced on a wild pitch to get in scoring position, and that ray of hope opened the door for freshman Olivia Latimer, who hit a single to centerfield that scored Stepanenko and tied the game at nine-apiece. That brought Townley up to the plate with the winning run on base, and Townley delivered with a walk-off single to centerfield of her own that drove in Latimer and ended the contest.
Townley finished 3 for 4 with two doubles to lead the Chargers in the victory, and Latimer added two hits as well.
In the first inning of the game, junior Jenna Cantalupo hit a three-run home run to give the Chargers an early lead, but Cedarville came back with seven straight runs to take a commanding lead. Still, the Chargers hung around, using a Madison Stoner RBI double and a McKenna Eichholz RBI single in the fifth inning to stay in contact and give Hillsdale a chance to pull out the victory late.
Russell (8-6) got the win in relief, striking out all three batters she faced in the seventh. Erin Kapteyn got the start and pitched three innings for Hillsdale, and Camryn Olson and Dani Deaton also appeared in relief.
The victory came after a frustrating 6-3 loss in Game 1 that snapped a four-game winning streak for Hillsdale. The Chargers put up 10 hits to Cedarville's 11 but left eight on base and weren't as efficient stringing them together as Cedarville was, with the Yellow Jackets putting up at least one run in each of the final five innings of the game to pull away.
Sophomore Hailey Holtman gave the Chargers an early lead in the bottom of the second with a RBI single, but Cedarville responded with two runs in the top of the third to take the lead, and never looked back.
Hillsdale made a late push in the bottom of the seventh, with a two-out RBI single by Townley getting one run, and taking advantage of a Yellow Jacket error to plate another. But the Chargers were just too far down to pull off a comeback with only one out to work with.
Latimer and Holtman each went 2 for 3 with a double to lead the Chargers in the loss, and Townley and Cantalupo each chipped in two hits as well.
Russell took the loss for the Chargers, going four and one-third innings with four strikeouts and a walk and giving up four earned runs. Dani Deaton and Camryn Olson each pitched in relief for the Chargers, with Olson striking out two batters in an inning of work.
Hillsdale is now 15-17 overall, and 5-1 in G-MAC play, now tied with Ohio Dominican for first place in the conference standings at this early juncture. The Chargers have a non-conference contest on Monday against Davenport at 3 p.m. at home next, before hitting the road to take on G-MAC foes Walsh and Malone next weekend.
Photo by Morgan Hoverman
