When you win your first regular season conference title in 29 seasons, more awards are sure to follow.
That's certainly the case for the Hillsdale College softball team, which saw its head coach and six players recognized by the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in its announcement of end of season award winners on Thursday afternoon.
The Chargers' Kyle Gross claimed one of the major G-MAC awards in the announcement, splitting Coach of the Year honors with Danielle Lowe of Findlay to become just the third coach in program history to be named conference coach of the year, along with David Neher (1989) and Joe Abraham (2016).
It's certainly a deserved honor for Gross, who ended a nearly three-decade G-MAC title drought this season, and, in four years as head coach at Hillsdale, has earned two NCAA DII Tournament bids, won a G-MAC Tournament title in 2019 and won the regular season title in 2022. He has a .529 winning percentage at Hillsdale, and a 49-18 record in G-MAC contests, with a 91-81 record overall.
This season might be Gross' best job yet, as the Chargers weathered the graduation losses of consensus All-American Sam Catron and one of the top pitchers in program history, Dana Weidinger, as well as overcoming a 4-14 start to win the G-MAC crown. Hillsdale is 27-4 since March 15 and its 19-2 record in G-MAC play is the best finish by a G-MAC champion since 2015, when the conference had just eight members, four of whom are no longer in the league.
While Gross did a masterful job of directing a team to the title, it also takes talented and dedicated players in abundance to claim a championship, and the All-G-MAC team showcases that fact. Hillsdale had six representatives on the three teams announced on Thursday by the conference, two each on the first, second and third teams.
Leading the way for the Chargers on the All-G-MAC first team were senior third baseman Elaine Townley and freshman pitcher Joni Russell.
Townley had a career year to establish herself as the undisputed top third baseman in the G-MAC, starting every single game for the Chargers and batting .331 with a team-leading 15 doubles, the third-most by any player in the G-MAC this season, as well as 23 RBIs and six stolen bases. A plus fielder for her position throughout her career, her .972 fielding percentage at third base is among the best in the conference and in the Midwest Region.
The senior was especially impactful in G-MAC play for the Chargers, batting .408 with eight doubles and 15 RBIs and helping power Hillsdale to the title down the stretch.
Russell, meanwhile, stepped into the void left by Weidinger's graduation and had a stellar freshman season, keeping the Chargers right in the mix in the G-MAC title race as the team's ace. Russell was 14-7 overall, 9-2 in G-MAC play, with two saves and a 2.20 ERA. Her 145 strikeouts are the sixth-most in a single season at Hillsdale, and tied for second in the G-MAC this year, while her 1.95 ERA in conference contests was fourth best in the league.
Impressive play against the conference's best teams by Russell was key in Hillsdale claiming the G-MAC title. In starts against G-MAC Tournament qualifying teams, Russell went 4-1, pitched shutouts against Trevecca Nazarene, Tiffin and Ursuline, gave up just four hits and struck out 10 in a 3-0 loss to Ohio Dominican, and rolled in a 10-2 victory over Findlay.
Two more Chargers, senior catcher Madison Stoner and sophomore pitcher Erin Kapteyn, also earned second-team All-G-MAC nods for Hillsdale.
A key player in the lineup for the Chargers for five consecutive seasons, Stoner ended her career with an excellent final season, hitting .369 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 31 RBIs to finish as one of the Chargers' top hitters on the season. She was especially impressive in G-MAC play, hitting .460 to lead the G-MAC in conference games, with eight doubles and 14 RBIs.
A four-year starter, Stoner will graduate as one of the best offensive players in program history. She currently sits seventh all-time in career hits (186), fifth in RBIs (121), third in walks drawn (64) and tied for 10th in home runs (13) at Hillsdale College.
Kapteyn, meanwhile, is one of the biggest breakthrough players in the conference, going from a little-used pitcher as a freshman to the Chargers' undisputed second starter and one of the top eight pitchers in the G-MAC in 2022. The sophomore was not only an effective compliment to Russell but her equal in most statistical categories, giving the Chargers the most potent one-two punch on the mound in the league.
The Delton, Kellogg native went 12-2 in 15 starts, including 7-0 in league play, with a 2.11 ERA and 84 strikeouts to 38 walks. Her 1.88 ERA in conference play was the third best among all pitchers in the league, and her 13 earned runs given up in conference play were tied for the best mark in the G-MAC this season.
The Chargers also had two players earn third-team All-G-MAC honors – senior utility player Madison Rathbun and freshman outfielder Olivia Latimer.
A part-time player for the last two seasons, Rathbun had almost as big a breakthrough season as Kapteyn did, becoming arguably the Chargers' best offensive player this season. Rathbun led the team in batting average (.377) and slugging percentage (.546), with 13 doubles, three home runs and 38 RBIs, while alternating between playing as the Chargers' designated player and appearing at five positions in the field, most often second base.
Rathbun kept up her strong play throughout Hillsdale's conference title run, hitting .369 with nine doubles, two home runs and 22 RBIs, the second-most in the G-MAC in conference play.
Latimer, meanwhile, stepped right on to the field from day one for the Chargers as a freshman, excelling in right field throughout the season.
The freshman hit .327 for the year with 12 doubles and 16 RBIs, and posted a perfect fielding percentage, with 28 putouts and two assists. Latimer was even better in conference play, hitting .338 with seven of her 12 doubles and 12 of her 16 RBIs coming against conference foes.
Hillsdale (31-18, 19-2 G-MAC) is currently playing in the G-MAC Tournament over the next three days, looking to add a G-MAC Tournament championship to its regular-season title and secure a fourth-straight NCAA Tournament bid.