The hottest team in the G-MAC continued to impress on the road on Monday, as the Hillsdale College softball team swept host Findlay to run its winning streak to 12 straight games and remain undefeated in G-MAC play on Monday.
The doubleheader with the Oilers was no easy assignment for the Chargers, as the two programs who are less than two hours apart have had several memorable and hard fought clashes in recent years, including in last year's G-MAC Tournament, when Hillsdale and Findlay played each other three times and the Chargers took two of three to secure the G-MAC Tourney crown.
The first game was reminiscent of those hotly-contested games, a low-scoring, tense affair that saw Hillsdale work the margins to come out on top in a 3-2 thriller. The two teams played four scoreless innings before Hillsdale struck first in the top of the fifth. Emma Vis started the inning for Hillsdale with a walk, and a perfectly laid bunt by Taylor Lewis gave Hillsdale runners on first and second.
Sophomore Emma Sather was up next and laid down a sacrifice bunt to try and move the runners over, but Findlay made an error on the throw to first to get the speedy shortstop out, and Vis was in position to take advantage, crossing home plate to give Hillsdale a 1-0 lead.
Hillsdale added two critical insurance runs in the top of the sixth as mounting errors wreaked havoc on Findlay's attempts to get out of the inning. A single by Grace Wallner coupled with an error scored McKenna Eichholz from second base for one run, and another error on the next at bat gave Hillsdale runners at the corners with one out. The Chargers were able to execute a double steal to perfection, with Vis providing the distraction and Wallner taking home plate on the throw to give Hillsdale a 3-0 lead.
Those runs would prove important, helping Hillsdale hold on to the edge despite Findlay rallying with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Leading 3-2, Hillsdale ace Joni Russell worked a scoreless seventh, retiring the Findlay batters in order to finish off the complete game victory.
Russell had another strong start in the circle for her 10th victory of the season, striking out 11, walking none and giving up just one earned run on five hits. At the plate, Hillsdale finished with just four hits in the game but made its opportunities count, punishing Findlay's mistakes to scratch out three runs in the victory.
In the nightcap, the Chargers bats caught fire, rolling to an 11-0 run-rule victory in five innings to sweep the doubleheader. Hillsdale broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the top of the third, on a Hailey Holtman RBI single and a two-run double by Sydney Davis, then put the game away with a scorching eight-run inning in the top of the fifth that included a two-run double by Grace Wallner, a two-run single by McKenna Eichholz and RBI singles by both Davis and Maggie Olaveson.
Senior Erin Kapteyn had a standout game in the circle for the Chargers, recording her second straight shutout and her fourth of the season in a virtuoso performance against one of the top hitting lineups in the G-MAC. Kapteyn finished with four strikeouts, no walks and just three hits conceded in five innings of work for her seventh win of the season.
Olaveson led the Chargers at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a RBI and two runs scored in the win, with Sather, Holtman and Davis each adding two hits as well.
Hillsdale is now 18-8 overall and the last remaining unbeaten in the G-MAC with a 4-0 mark, a game ahead of fellow title contenders Trevecca Nazarene and Northwood. The Chargers' 12 straight wins are the most by the team since a stretch of 14 straight in 2022, a mark they'll get a chance to match on Friday as Hillsdale plays a home-opening doubleheader against a much improved Kentucky Wesleyan team at 3 p.m. Following that contest, the Chargers host Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday for an early showdown between G-MAC title contenders.
Photo by Meredith Wipper, Findlay Athletics