Schedule
Hillsdale College (10-8) vs Slippery Rock (5-10) | 11:30 a.m. ET Friday, March 15 | Diamondplex – Winter Haven, FL
Hillsdale College (10-8) vs Purdue Northwest (12-10) | 2 p.m. ET Friday, March 15 | Diamondplex – Winter Haven, FL
Hillsdale College (10-8) vs Shepherd (7-7) | 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday, March 16 | Diamondplex – Winter Haven, FL
Hillsdale College (10-8) vs Saint Anselm (6-11) | 3:15 p.m. ET Saturday, March 16 | Diamondplex – Winter Haven, FL
Links
Live stats | Hillsdale Roster | Slippery Rock Roster | Purdue NW Roster | Shepherd Roster | St. Anselm Roster | 2024 Hillsdale Stats | 2024 Slippery Rock Stats | 2024 Purdue NW Stats | 2024 Shepherd Stats | 2024 St. Anselm Stats | G-MAC Softball Standings | G-MAC Softball Stats
Outlook
Hillsdale's spring break trip to Florida has gotten off to a great start, with two competitive losses to a top-25 Rollins squad and sweeps of Florida Southern and Eckerd. The Chargers will finish off their time in the Sunshine State this weekend by participating in the Spring Games in Winter Haven, Florida, with four neutral-site contests against Midwest and Atlantic Regional foes.
First up for Hillsdale on Friday is a matchup with Slippery Rock. The Rock is 5-10 this season and coming off a 29-24 campaign in 2023 that ended in the PSAC Tournament. Slippery Rock is led at the plate by returning All-PSAC and All-Atlantic Region two-way player Alexsa Hurd, a junior, while another junior, Arielle Brown, leads the Rock in batting average and RBIs. Junior outfielder Julia Montie also brings power to the Slippery Rock lineup, with three home runs in 15 games this season.
On the mound, Hurd is one of the top pitchers in the Atlantic Region and has a 2.52 ERA and 33 strikeouts in seven games this year, and she's joined by another All-PSAC pitcher in Kelsi Anderson, who has a 3.00 ERA in seven starts as well. Slippery Rock also has a strong reliever out of the bullpen in sophomore Mackenzie Borkovich, who has a 1.33 ERA in nine appearances.
The Chargers follow the game against the Rock with a rematch against Purdue Northwest on Friday afternoon. Hillsdale will look to get payback after a tight 2-0 loss to the Pride at the Rosemont Dome Invite in February. Purdue Northwest, now 12-10 overall return a strong lineup from 2023 including honorable mention All-American Selena Michko, who leads the team with six extra base hits and 13 RBIs, and second-team All-GLIAC honoree Jessica DeBoer, who is tied with 13 RBIs 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 .507 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 7-3 with a 1.42 ERA and 59 strikeouts to 17 walks, including a shutout in the two teams' first meeting. If not Roop, Hillsdale likely will face senior Gabby Paliska, who has a 3.77 ERA in 11 appearances, with 39 strikeouts.
On Saturday, Hillsdale takes on another PSAC school in Shepherd first. The Rams are 7-7 this year after a 28-22 mark in 2023. The Rams enter Saturday looking to get the bats going after a middling start offensively, hitting just .203 as a team. Shepherd does have a returning All-Region honoree in senior second baseman Caitlin Donnelly, who hit .363 in 2023 with 27 RBIs. Junior outfielder Lauren Alt leads the Rams in batting average with .308, while senior catcher Alex Mantz leads the team in total hits and RBIs with nine.
Despite struggles offensively, Shepherd has a strong record thanks to freshman pitching sensation Madelayne Ruffner, who has a 5-0 record and a microscopic 0.34 ERA along with 68 strikeouts to eight walks in seven appearances this season. If the Chargers don't face Ruffner, they'll likely see her older sister, Hannah, who also has four starts this season, with Katie Laing and Abby McBride also options out of the bullpen.
Hillsdale wraps up the Florida trip with a Saturday afternoon contest against Saint Anselm. The Hawks are 6-11 this season after a 26-15-1 mark in 2023. Saint Anselm is led at the plate by a returning All-Region player in senior Ava Caputo, who is hitting .264 with seven RBIs this season, as well as senior All-NE10 honoree Gracie O'Hara. Outfielders Rose Reitmeyer and Stephanie Tardungo are off to hot starts at the plate as well for Saint Anselm, who's also looking for improvement with just a .207 team batting average so far.
Like Shepherd, Saint Anselm's offensive concerns are mitigated by an excellent pitcher, as returning All-Region honoree Haile Hicks has a 6-2 record so far with a 1.92 ERA in eight appearances. If the Hawks don't throw Hicks against the Chargers, Hillsdale likely will see freshman Sam Ryan, who has a 4.16 ERA in 10 appearances.
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 been her usual excellent self so far in 2024, earning Wilson/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week honors to start March, setting the Hillsdale College career strikeouts record and entering the weekend at 5-3 with 82 strikeouts and a 1.06 ERA in eight starts. Kapteyn has been rock solid as well with a 3.29 ERA, four wins and two saves. As a team the Chargers are at a solid 2.57 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 over the first weekend of March, as the Chargers piled up 27 runs in four contests. That form has continued in Florida, with solid offensive performances in sweeps of Florida Southern and Eckerd. Sophomore Maggie Olaveson has been Hillsdale's most consistent hitter so far, batting .367 with a team-best 12 extra base hits and 12 RBIs, while seniors McKenna Eichholz and Grace Wallner have also impressed. Eichholz is hitting .339 with a team-leading 14 RBIs, while Wallner is batting .362 with a team best seven doubles.
In addition to those three players, juniors Emma Vis and Hannah Hoverman have flashed power, each currently with three home runs, while freshman Sydney Davis is batting .387 in an impressive debut campaign. As a team, the Chargers have 14 home runs, putting them on pace to exceed the totals of the last two years, and to threaten the record of 37 set in 2021.