The Hillsdale College softball team's stellar pitching staff came to the ballpark ready to play on Friday afternoon, shutting down both Slippery Rock and Purdue Northwest in tight contests for a doubleheader sweep in action in The Spring Games tournament in Winter Haven, Florida.
Erin Kapteyn started the day with a brilliant performance in a 1-0 extra inning victory over Slippery Rock in the morning, outdueling The Rock's ace and an All-Atlantic Region pitcher, junior Alexsa Hurd. Kapteyn allowed just one hit and three total baserunners across eight innings, striking out four and expertly working through a scoreless eighth inning where a Slippery Rock player started on second base in accordance with international tiebreak rules.
When it was Hillsdale's turn in the bottom of the eighth inning, Emma Sather, Hillsdale's international tiebreak runner, got successfully bunted over to third by sophomore Taylor Lewis, then scored the walk-off run on a passed ball during the next at bat to secure the victory in a tense affair. The Chargers managed to get three hits off Hurd and three times got runners into scoring position, including Lewis reaching third in the third inning, but were unable to break through until extras.
Lewis led the Chargers with a single, a stolen base, and the bunt to set up the game-winner in extras, while Medleigh Danchak and Maggie Olaveson each chipped in a hit as well.
After beating Slippery Rock, the Chargers closed out the day with a bit of revenge, paying back a 2-0 loss in February to Purdue Northwest with a 4-1 win over the Pride in a critical regional victory. Hillsdale managed just three hits in the first go-around against the Pride, but scored four runs on six hits in the rematch. The Chargers got started early, as Hillsdale scored a run in the top of the first on a single by Olaveson and a Pride error, and plated a second in the next at-bat on a RBI single from McKenna Eichholz to take a 2-0 lead.
Purdue Northwest got on the board in the fourth, taking advantage of a Hillsdale error to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Chargers were able to add two crucial insurance runs in the top of the fifth, on a sacrifice fly by Olaveson to score Lewis and a RBI double by Eichholz to score Hailey Holtman.
With the offense backing her up, Chargers ace Joni Russell took care of business in another strong performance on the mound, striking out nine, scattering seven hits and giving up just one unearned run in an impressive performance against a tough, veteran Pride lineup.
Holtman and Eichholz each went 2 for 4 to lead the Chargers at the plate, while Olaveson and Wallner each added a base hit and Sydney Davis chipped in a stolen base.
Hillsdale is now 12-8 overall and enters its final day of play in Florida on a six-game winning streak. The Chargers will look to finish strong on Saturday with contests against Shepherd and Saint Anselm to wrap up their Spring Break trip.