Schedule
Hillsdale College (2-1) vs Purdue NW (5-3) | 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23 | Rosemont Dome – Rosemont, IL
Hillsdale College (2-1) vs Upper Iowa (2-6) | 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23 | Rosemont Dome – Rosemont, IL
Hillsdale College (2-1) vs Minnesota Duluth (3-0) | 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 | Rosemont Dome – Rosemont, IL
Hillsdale College (2-1) vs Lewis (2-2) | 12 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 | Rosemont Dome – Rosemont, IL
Hillsdale College (2-1) vs Truman St. (4-5) | 9 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 25 | Rosemont Dome – Rosemont, IL
Links
Live stats | Hillsdale Roster | Purdue NW Roster | Upper Iowa Roster | Minnesota-Duluth Roster | Lewis Roster | Truman St. Roster
Outlook
The Chargers opened the 2024 season with a weather-affected weekend down south on Feb. 10-12, playing just one of five scheduled games at Tusculum due to rain but picking up a Sunday doubleheader against Wheeling on the way back and going 2-1. Now Hillsdale faces a tougher test in the Lewis Dome Invitational this weekend, with five games against quality opponents, including two NCAA DII Tournament teams in 2023.
The Chargers open the weekend with a Friday contest against a solid Purdue Northwest team that just missed the NCAA Tournament last year and is off to a 5-3 start against tough competition in 2024.
The Pride return a strong lineup including 2023 honorable mention All-American Selena Michko, who is hitting .391 with a team high 4 RBIs, and second-team All-GLIAC honoree Jessica DeBoer, who is hitting .389 as well. In addition to a couple of strong returners, Purdue Northwest has gotten a big boost so far from freshman Kylie Dugan, who is hitting .471 with a .526 on-base percentage in seven games so far.
On the mound, the Pride return their top two starters from 2023, led by senior and returning first-team All-GLIAC pitcher Madison Roop, who will likely be the Chargers' opponent on Friday. Roop is currently 3-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 20 strikeouts to five walks. If not Roop, Hillsdale likely will face senior Gabby Paliska, who has a 2.95 ERA in four appearances, or freshman Hannah Rafferty-Flatter.
The Chargers' other Friday opponent is Upper Iowa, who is joining the Midwest Region and the GLVC after several years in the NSIC and Central Region. The Peacocks are coming off a 17-26 campaign in 2023 and are 2-6 so far in 2024, albeit against tough competition.
Upper Iowa has two strong hitters in senior Laila Pelds, a returning All-NSIC player who's hitting .375 with a team-high 10 RBIs, and senior Ari Charles, who's batting .500 so far to lead the Peacocks in OPS. On the mound, senior Delaney Vetter is Upper Iowa's ace with a 2-2 record and 4.76 ERA, including 16 strikeouts. Other potential starters for the Peacocks include returning veterans Rylee McGonigle and Abby Buckman.
The Chargers' toughest day of competition is Saturday, when Hillsdale faces two 2023 conference tournament champions and NCAA DII Tournament qualifiers back-to-back. Hillsdale starts with Minnesota-Duluth, a 40-win team in 2023 who won the NSIC Tournament title and is off to a 3-0 start this season.
The Bulldogs return three All-Conference honorees in their lineup in Kiana Bender, Nicole Schmitt and Kat Burkhardt, and in a small sample size, senior Julia Gronholz is hitting .667 and sophomore Morgan McMillan is hitting .500 as well for Duluth, who has scored six or more runs in all three games so far.
Back on the mound for the Bulldogs in 2024 is 2023 NSIC Pitcher of the Year Lauren Dixon, who has a 2.50 ERA and 23 strikeouts to 11 walks in two victories. Duluth also returns second pitcher Mady Stariha, who's another option to start the Saturday contest, and junior Allison Luoma, who has an appearance also this season.
Hillsdale finishes off Saturday with a contest against event host Lewis, who went 38-20 last season with a GLVC Tournament Championship and has long been one of the top programs in the Midwest. The Flyers are off to a 2-2 start this season, though against tough opponents.
Lewis returns one of the region's top two-way players in junior Delaney Garden, who was an all-region selection in 2023 as the team's top pitcher and one of their most productive hitters. Along with Garden, senior Evie Calderon is batting .400 so far for the Flyers, and sophomore Erica Hoffman is hitting .333.
On the mound, Garden has gotten off to a bit of a tough start in 2024, though against strong competition levels, sitting at 0-2 with a 3.07 ERA. Lewis has two more strong and experienced starting pitchers in sophomore Allie Wondrasek, who has an 0.70 ERA in two appearances, and senior Payton Wuske, who has a 1.75 ERA in her lone start in 2024.
The Chargers finish off the Dome Invite on Sunday morning with a game against Truman State. The Bulldogs struggled to a 17-37 finish in 2023 but are off to an encouraging 4-5 start against solid competition in 2024.
Outfielder Emily Wood leads Truman at the plate, and she's hitting an impressive .469 so far with two home runs. Three more Bulldogs – Cameryn Patterson, Charlotte Chelich and Cassie Smith – are hitting over .400 so far for Truman, who have put up significant runs in most contests to date.
Truman has thrown a variety of pitchers so far, with four different players earning starts. Junior Madie Anderson has been the most effective starter with a 5.67 ERA and 13 strikeouts, but Breianna Klein, Chelich, Brooke Nutter and Kaylyn Jones are also options for the Bulldogs.
Hillsdale enters the 2024 season with one of the best one-two punches on the mound in the nation at the NCAA DII level. 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, 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 was sensational in her season-opening game against Tusculum, striking out 15 batters and giving up just one earned run.
Hillsdale hopes to add a potent offense to that elite pitching staff to take the next step with season. Seasoned veterans Hailey Holtman, a four-year starter, and catcher McKenna Eichholz lead a much more experienced unit, while Grace Wallner also returns after a breakout season at third base and players like Hannah Hoverman, Emma Sather, Taylor Lewis and Maggie Olaveson look to make big leaps in their second seasons as every day players.