The Hillsdale College softball team opened the Rosemont Dome Invite with two hard-fought, low-scoring contests against tough competition on Friday night, falling 2-0 to Purdue Northwest in the opener before rallying for a 4-0 victory over Upper Iowa in the nightcap.
The Chargers battled the Pride in a tight, tense contest in the first game but couldn't break through offensively in the shutout loss. Hillsdale got off to a good start in the first inning, as Hailey Holtman singled with one out to get on base and stole second, and the Chargers also got sophomore Emma Sather to second on a single and stolen base in the fifth, but in both cases were unable to find the crucial hit to drive them in. Purdue Northwest took advantage of an error in the second inning to go ahead, and added an insurance run in the sixth.
Hillsdale had a shot to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Hannah Hoverman hit a blast to the centerfield fence with a runner on and no outs, but it came up just a few feet short of clearing the wall and the Chargers couldn't find another.
Joni Russell was the unlucky loser for the Chargers on the mound despite strong play, going all seven innings with eight strikeouts, two walks and just one unearned run to fall to 1-1 on the season.
Hillsdale's offensive struggles carried over to the start of the Upper Iowa game, as the Chargers went hitless for the first three innings. Hillsdale broke up the no-hitter with a bunt single by Emma Vis in the top of the fourth, then broke through in the sixth. Hailey Holtman led off the inning with a walk and a stolen, Vis added a second bunt single, and Hannah Hoverman drew a walk to load the bases.
Sophomore Maggie Olaveson broke the shutout with a clutch bases-loaded hit, a single up the middle, and Hillsdale tacked on three more runs on a Grace Wallner single, a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Lewis, and a sacrifice fly by Ashley Strick. That 4-0 lead held up in the seventh to improve the Chargers to 3-2 on the season.
Senior Erin Kapteyn earned the victory for Hillsdale with a masterful start to improve to 2-0 on the year, throwing her eighth career complete game shutout with two strikeouts, no walks, and just five hits given up. Kapteyn needed just 80 pitches to record all 21 outs in an impressively efficient performance.
Wallner led the Chargers with a single and a double in the victory, Vis added two hits as well, and Holtman stole two bases.
Hillsdale will be back in action tomorrow in Rosemont for two tough contests against teams that played in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Chargers face Minnesota Duluth at 9 a.m. CT, followed by a matchup with host Lewis at 11 a.m. CT. Hillsdale then finishes the weekend on Sunday with a game against Truman State at 8 a.m. CT.