The Hillsdale College softball team's recent winning formula proved too strong for visiting Lake Erie on Saturday, as the Chargers used dominant pitching and home runs to power past the Storm for a doubleheader sweep on Saturday.
The Storm arrived in Hillsdale looking to play spoiler and challenged the Chargers early, but Hillsdale's pitching staff was on point in another excellent doubleheader in the circle for the Chargers.
Junior Joni Russell was one out away from making history, taking what would have been Hillsdale's first perfect game in over 30 years into the seventh inning, retiring 20 straight batters before a Lake Erie home run ended the Chargers' closest bid for perfection in decades. Russell struck out 12 of the 22 batters she faced with no walks in her 16th victory of the season, and her performance prior to the home run meant Hillsdale had the game well in hand throughout in a 5-1 victory.
Offensively, the Chargers plated five runs on just six hits, with three home runs in the contest, including a pair by left-fielder Maggie Olaveson in the third and fifth innings. Junior Hannah Hoverman added her seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field, to start the scoring for Hillsdale in the bottom of the second inning, and Taylor Lewis added a RBI single as well to give Hillsdale a 3-0 lead it would never relinquish. Lewis added a stolen base as well, and senior Grace Wallner chipped in a double for the Chargers.
In the nightcap, Hillsdale's second ace, senior Erin Kapteyn, did a masterful job of keeping Lake Erie off-balance throughout on the way to her 13th win and seventh shutout of the season as Hillsdale took a 5-0 victory, both career highs. Kapteyn struck out seven batters, walked three, and scattered four hits in a dominant complete game performance that moves her just two shutouts shy of Hillsdale's single-season record of nine set by Erin Hunt in 2018.
Despite Kapteyn's brilliance, much of game two was a tense affair as Hillsdale clung to a 1-0 lead through five and a half innings. The Chargers took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a bases loaded walk, and a senasational catch by sophomore Emma Sather in center field helped the Chargers get out of a jam in the top of the sixth inning and keep the lead.
Hillsdale blew the game open with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs on three straight hits. Lewis doubled to score senior Hailey Holtman and kick things off, freshman Sydney Davis followed up with a single to score Lewis, and Olaveson blasted a ball to left center for her third home run of the day to give Hillsdale a five-run lead.
Today's home runs give Olaveson 13 for the season, putting her just one behind former All-American Sam Catron for second in Hillsdale history, and just two behind the school record of 15 set by another former All-American, Jessica Guertin, in 2010.
Olaveson and Lewis each went 2 for 4 at the plate to lead the Chargers in the victory, as did senior McKenna Eichholz, who chipped in two doubles. Junior Emma Vis added a double as well for the Chargers, who finished with nine hits in the victory.
With the win, Hillsdale is now 30-12 overall, 16-4 in G-MAC play, and has reached the 30-win threshhold for the fourth straight year after surpassing 30 wins just four times total in the previous 43 seasons. The Chargers wrap their home calendar for 2024 tomorrow, Sunday, with a doubleheader against Ursuline at 1 p.m. as Hillsdale looks to finish the regular season strong heading into the upcoming G-MAC Tournament.
Photo by Reva Ludwig