Head softball coach Joe Abraham said his team needed to play 10 games to reach “where they need to be.” With 14 games out of the way, the Hillsdale Softball team is ready to play two top-tier NAIA challengers Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Chargers will face Davenport University (16-3) and then Cornerstone University (9-3), both on Davenport’s turf field. These will be the team’s last games before conference play starts.
While going 6-6 last week in Clermont, Florida, Hillsdale improved its batting and became accustomed to outdoor play. The Chargers racked up three wins where they trailed by three runs late in the game. Abraham said the Chargers did not face a weak team the entire trip.
“As the week went on, the communication and energy we had out on the field significantly improved,” senior Jessica Day said in an email.
In addition to serving Southern Indiana (15-1) its only loss on the season with a 2-0 win on March 7, one of the Chargers’ most thrilling victories came March 9 in the form of an international tiebreaker against D-II powerhouse Minnesota State, Mankato.
After trailing 4-1 in the sixth inning, the Chargers came back to tie it in the seventh. In international tiebreakers, both teams begin the eighth inning with a runner on second base. The Chargers stepped up to the plate first, but weren’t able to score.
“At the bottom of the eighth, they got a bunt single to put runners on first and third, then we got a pop up to the infield and another pop up, and then a strikeout,” Abraham said. “Then we got three runs in the top of the ninth and they got two in the bottom of the ninth, with the winning run on base. So this was a big win because they’re really good.”
The trip ended with two wins from the Chargers on Saturday. The first was a 4-1 victory over Southern Connecticut State, in which freshman standout pitcher Danielle Stiene gave up no earned runs and struck out nine batters. In the second game, Hillsdale came back from a 4-1 deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning to win 5-4. A sacrifice fly from junior Sarah Klopfer and a single to centerfield by freshman Brittany Mahan tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Solid defense put the Chargers in position to put sophomore Bekah Kastning on base and eventually score in the seventh.
“We came back and got the win in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Everyone was so focused and really supportive,” Mahan said in an email. “There were a lot of great hits in that game.”
The top hitters of the week were junior Sarah Grunert (.413, going 19 for 46), Kastning (.395, going 17 for 43), and junior Ainsley Ellison (.375, going 12 for 32). Junior catcher Danielle Garceau threw out more than half of those attempting to steal bases (6 out of 11), which Abraham said is “almost unheard of.” Other key plays throughout the week came from sophomores Kelli Eddie and Jessie Fox, and freshmen Haley Lawrence and Kelsey Gockman.
“We tried a lot of different things down there. We have about five girls in the lineup pretty much or almost every game, then we have one outfield spot we use a lot of different people in. Our designated player – DP – we used a lot of different people there. And then between shortstop and a little bit of second and third, we mix it up a bit,” Abraham said. “We’re not totally set with the lineup yet, but it’s a good thing because we have several players doing well.”
Abraham attributed the team’s losses to giving up key leads in certain games.
“Other than one game, for the most part our losses featured not enough hitting and a ton of runners left on base,” he said.
“During these two weeks prior to the start of conference play, we are going to do every little thing we have to do to prepare to come out strong against Findlay on March 28,” Day said.
