Schedule
Hillsdale College (6-6) at Rollins (16-5) | 4 p.m. ET Sunday, March 10 | Rollins Softball Stadium at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park – Winter Park, FL
Hillsdale College (6-6) at Rollins (16-5) | 6 p.m. ET Sunday, March 10 | Rollins Softball Stadium at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park – Winter Park, FL
Hillsdale College (6-6) at Florida Southern (9-13) | 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 12 | Chris Bellotto Field – Lakeland, FL
Hillsdale College (6-6) at Florida Southern (9-13) | 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 12 | Chris Bellotto Field – Lakeland, FL
Hillsdale College (6-6) at Eckerd (7-13) | 3 p.m. ET Wednesday, March 13 | Turley Athletic Complex – St. Petersburg, FL
Hillsdale College (6-6) at Eckerd (7-13) | 5 p.m. ET Wednesday, March 13 | Turley Athletic Complex – St. Petersburg, FL
Links
Live stats | Hillsdale Roster | Rollins Roster | Florida Southern Roster | Eckerd Roster | 2024 Hillsdale Stats | 2024 Rollins Stats | 2024 Florida Southern Stats | 2024 Eckerd Stats | G-MAC Softball Standings | G-MAC Softball Stats
Outlook
Hillsdale got back to .500 last weekend with a 3-1 record against two tough regional foes in Springfield, Illinois, and will look to carry that momentum into the team's annual Spring Break trip to Florida. The Chargers play 10 games in six days, starting with a trio of doubleheaders against local Florida schools.
The Chargers kick off the trip on Sunday with arguably their toughest opponent of the Florida swing and one of the best teams they'll play all year, Rollins, who is 16-5 after a 32-17 finish in 2023. The Tars are red-hot, having won 10 straight games including sweeps of #11 Wilmington and #15 Nova Southeastern entering the weekend.
Rollins has four players hitting above .350 in the lineup, led by 2022 NFCA All-American Ashley Worrell, who's hitting .411 with a team-high 23 RBIs. Sophomore Taylor Hartman hits .424 and leads the team in OBP with .500, while senior Grace Germer also hits .412 with a team-high three home runs and senior Taylor Waters is hitting .351 with 16 RBIs, as part of a very dangerous offensive squad.
On the mound Worrell is the team's ace with a 1.69 ERA and a 7-2 record, looking fully recovered after missing half of the 2023 season last year. Rollins' second starter, junior Emily MacMullen, has a 3-1 record and a 3.00 ERA, and junior Keivana Durand, freshman Reese Twiggs and Hartman also are options out of the bullpen.
After facing Rollins on Sunday, Hillsdale heads west to Lakeland to face Florida Southern on Tuesday. The Mocs are a regular Florida trip opponent for the Chargers, splitting with Hillsdale last season on the way to a 25-25 overall finish. This year, Florida Southern is 9-13 against a tough slate.
Florida Southern returns a bevy of talent from last year, including four All-SSC hitters – Skyler Ralstin, Kiki Morris, Taylor Thomas and Destiny Colgate. Ralstin leads the Mocs so far in hits, extra base hits and RBIs, while Thomas and Colgate are also off to strong starts. Sophomore Kenleigh Smith is hitting .333 as well for Florida Southern.
The Mocs are leaning on last year's second starter, senior Ashley Blessin, who is 4-5 with an impressive 1.93 ERA, while freshman Ella Torres has been a revelation as well, with a 1.88 ERA in five appearances. Torres is battling Warner transfer Mel Rogers, who has a 3.38 ERA in six appearances, for the second starter role, and Amanda Lieberman, Cat Buckner and Thomas are also options out of the bullpen.
Hillsdale plays Eckerd in St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday before heading to Winter Haven to play in the Spring Games. The Tritons are off to a 7-13 start in 2024 so far after a 21-26 mark in 2023 that included a tough time in Sunshine State Conference play.
At the plate, Eckerd leans heavily on junior Lauren Margolis, a 1st Team All-SSC honoree in 2023 who is hitting .333 with a team-high three home run and 10 RBIs so far. Sophomore Ella Coiner also is off to a hot start, batting a team-best .366 with a team-high 12 RBIs, and freshman Hannah Taylor and junior Addisan Langston have been productive as well at the plate for the Tritons.
On the mound, Eckerd is led by senior and McNeese St. transfer Olivia Johnson, who is 3-1 in seven appearances with a 1.83 ERA. Sophomore Brandilyn Reymer has a 3.41 ERA in seven starts for the Tritons, and freshman Reese Founds has a 4.07 ERA in seven starts as well.
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 has looked as good or better than 2023 so far this season, earning Wilson/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honors for her play in Springfield and sitting at 3-2 with 50 strikeouts and a microscopic 0.82 ERA in five starts, while Kapteyn has been solid with a 2.97 ERA and a 3-2 record. As a team the Chargers are at an excellent 2.45 ERA so far this season.
The key for Hillsdale to reach their potential is to make a big offensive leap, and there were promising signs against Illinois-Springfield and Quincy last week, as the Chargers piled up 27 runs in four contests. Sophomore Maggie Olaveson has been Hillsdale's most consistent hitter so far, batting .405 with a team-best seven extra base hits and seven RBIs, while seniors McKenna Eichholz, Grace Wallner and Hailey Holtman are all batting above .330 as well.