In her second season in Charger blue and white, Hillsdale College softball pitcher Erin Kapteyn is starting to come into her own.
The sophomore's latest start, against Quincy this past Sunday, was impressive enough to earn her conference-level recognition, as Kapteyn has been named G-MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday. It's the first weekly conference honor of her career, and the Chargers' first player of the week of the 2022 season.
Kapteyn was excellent in a 5-1 victory over Quincy that snapped a six-game Charger losing streak. The Delton, Michigan native went all seven innings, striking out six batters and surrendering just five hits and no earned runs. The only Hawks run of the game came on a fielding error in the fourth inning.
In four appearances and two starts this season, Kapteyn has just a 1.07 ERA in 19.2 innings pitched. She's gone the distance in both her starts, including a 3-2 loss to Truman St. in the Lewis Dome Invite where two of the three runs scored against her were also unearned. To date, she has struck out 14 batters against eight walks.
Kapteyn's start is building off a solid freshman campaign in 2021 where she jumped right into the rotation and played an important role in the Chargers' NCAA Tournament run, appearing in 18 games with a 3.53 ERA and earning three wins and a save.
The sophomore will surely get plenty more chances to pitch in the next week, as the 3-11 Chargers travel to Florida for their annual Spring Break trip and 12 games in seven days, starting with a doubleheader against host Lynn on Saturday, March 12 in Boca Raton, Florida. Hillsdale will be looking to shake off a slow start to the season and round into form with G-MAC play just around the corner.
Photo by Kasidy Carson