After struggling offensively for the first three weeks of the season, the Hillsdale College softball team put bats on the ball in a big way at just the right time on Saturday, scoring 17 total runs to sweep host Illinois-Springfield and get back to .500 on the year.
On top of serving as two important Midwest Region victories, the two wins also avenge a 2023 NCAA Tournament loss to the Prairie Stars that ended Hillsdale's season last year. With 15 of the 18 players on the 2024 roster having been a part of last year's squad, the sweep is a meaningful one for the Chargers and a big boost of confidence early in the season.
Hillsdale opened the day with a win in a wild 7-6 contest. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, Hillsdale plated six runs in the top of the second, as senior Grace Wallner hit a RBI double to tie the game, freshman Sydney Davis drove her in with a RBI single, and seniors Hailey Holtman and McKenna Eichholz each added two-run base hits as well to help the Chargers take a 6-1 lead.
UIS struck back with four runs in the bottom of the second to close the gap to 6-5, and a tense five innings followed. Wallner gave Hillsdale an insurance run in the top of the seventh, hitting a double to drive in Eichholz after a lead-off double by the senior to give Hillsdale a 7-5 lead. That extra run would prove critical as UIS scraped one run across in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn't find a second one to tie the game as the Chargers held on.
Wallner led the Chargers at the plate, going 3 for 4 with two doubles, Eichholz added a single and a double, and Sydney Davis hit a double as well. Senior Erin Kapteyn showed fortitude on the mound to earn her third win of the season, bouncing back from UIS' four-run inning in the second to give up just one run in the final five innings and keep Hillsdale's lead intact. Kapteyn finished with three strikeouts and two walks in a complete game effort.
There was little drama in the nightcap, as the Chargers jumped on the Prairie Stars early on and rolled to a 10-0 shutout victory. Maggie Olaveson hit a RBI single and Hannah Hoverman chipped in a RBI double to give Hillsdale a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, and Emma Vis added a three-run home run in the top of the third to make it 5-0, Chargers. Hoverman added a second home run on a two-run blast in the top of the sixth, and Hailey Holtman hit a RBI single and Olaveson added an RBI double as part of a three-run seventh inning.
On the mound, Joni Russell was dominant for the Chargers to record her second win of the season, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning and striking out 13, walking three and giving up just two hits in a complete game shutout. Hillsdale pounded out 16 hits offensively in the nightcap, with Eichholz and Hoverman each finishing with three hits, Grace Wallner going 2 for 4 with a double, and Maggie Olaveson and Emma Sather each chipping in two hits as well.
Hillsdale improves to 5-5 with the victory and will look to carry the momentum from today's victories into a neutral-site doubleheader tomorrow against Quincy, set to be played on the UIS Softball Field.