It's been a stellar career so far for Hillsdale College pitcher Joni Russell -- and with many more games still to come.
On Sunday, the Chargers ace added another milestone accomplishment to a long list of them in a 5-0 win over Quincy that helped Hillsdale get a split with the Hawks. Russell struck out 10 batters in the victory, in the process surpassing Hillsdale's career strikeouts record of 474 set by Sarah DeAngelo in 2001. Russell, a junior, now has 478 strikeouts for her career and should become Hillsdale's first 500-strikeout pitcher during the team's spring break trip starting next weekend.
Russell earned the record in typical dominant fashion, pitching a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and two walks to shut down Quincy in a complete game victory. It's Russell's second shutout in as many days as the junior struck out 14 and gave up just two hits in a 10-0 win over Illinois-Springfield on Saturday.
With Russell dealing, Hillsdale got all the runs it needed to win the game in the bottom of the first inning, as sophomore Maggie Olaveson hit a two-run home run to give the Chargers an early edge. McKenna Eichholz drove in a run in both the third and fifth innings on RBI groundouts to extend Hillsdale's advantage, and sophomore Katie Matzat grounded in a third run in the bottom of the sixth for Hillsdale's 5-0 margin of victory.
Olaveson was 2 for 2 with a home run to lead the Chargers, who finished with six hits but made the most of their baserunners in the contest. Taylor Lewis and Sydney Davis each chipped in a stolen base as well for Hillsdale.
Hillsdale put together a solid seventh-inning rally in the first game of the day against the Hawks, but couldn't overcome three errors that led to four unearned runs in an 8-5 defeat. All four of those unearned runs came in the bottom of the third inning as Quincy built a 4-1 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Olaveson had briefly given the Chargers the lead in the top of the third inning with a solo home run, but the bottom half of the inning had Hillsdale chasing the rest of the contest. The Hawks added another run in the fourth and tacked on three more in the sixth to take a commanding 8-1 lead into the final inning.
With just three outs to work with and a mountain to climb, the Chargers staged a furious rally, plating four runs, including a RBI single by Hailey Holtman and a two-run single by Grace Wallner. Ultimately, however, the deficit was too much to overcome with the slim margin for error left.
Holtman went 3 for 4 at the plate to lead the Chargers offensively in the loss, and Olaveson and Wallner each chipped in two hits as well. Holtman, Lewis and Eichholz each stole a base for the Chargers.
Erin Kapteyn took the loss, pitching three and two-thirds innings with two strikeouts and no walks and giving up just one earned run in the defeat. Mackenzi Maxson pitched two and a third innings of relief as well for Hillsdale.
A solid 3-1 weekend helped the Chargers get back to .500 overall at 6-6. Now, Hillsdale looks forward to its annual Spring Break trip to Florida, where the Chargers will play 10 games in seven days, starting with a doubleheader against Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida on Sunday, March 10.