GLIAC play opens Saturday for the Charger softball team. Hillsdale will host Findlay in a doubleheader at 1 and 3 p.m. at Johnny Williams Field.
Last year’s games against the Oilers (10-9) proved to be the nail in the coffin for Hillsdale, who, like Findlay, went 13-13 on the season in conference play. Findlay came out on top in the GLIAC’s deciding tiebreaker, edging the Chargers out of a spot in the conference tournament.
This year, the Chargers want revenge.
“We seem to always be about even with them. Our doubleheaders with them in the last four years have played a huge role in the conference tournament,” head coach Joe Abraham said. “They swept us last year and we both went 13-13, and then they beat us in the tiebreaker.”
After going 1-1 last weekend against NAIA foes Davenport University and Cornerstone University, the Chargers feel confident heading into the conference season.
“We have had some pretty close games that have prepared us for these important games,” sophomore Kelli Eddie said. “We feel pretty confident.”
That confidence comes after an 11-3 victory over Cornerstone in the second game Saturday evening, despite frigid weather conditions.
“We played better defense in the Cornerstone game,” Abraham said. “We were tied at three in the top of the fifth with two outs and runners on first and second, and they hit a ball to deep left field that Kelli ran back for and made an over-the-shoulder diving catch that saved at least two runs. We really needed someone to step up and make a play and she did.”
That Charger bats got going in the bottom of the fifth, as Hillsdale went on to pound Cornerstone, mercying them 11-3.
“(Sophomore) Cassie (Asselta) went three for three with a triple, a double, and a single and three RBIs,” assistant coach Erin Porter said. “She almost hit for a cycle.”
A cycle is hitting a single, double, triple, and home run all in the same game, Porter explained. Junior Sarah Klopfer pitched for the win.
Before the Cornerstone game, the Chargers made a comeback against Davenport, but couldn’t quite close the gap before falling 8-5.
“We’ve shown a lot of fight when we’re down. It didn’t surprise any of us when we came back,” Abraham said. “Not to take any credit away from Davenport, but we probably played the worst game of the season and we were still in position to come back and win at the end. We just had some defensive mistakes, running errors, balks – things that lead to a loss. When we clean things up, we’re going to be really, really good.”
Sophomore Jessie Fox, who played right field against Cornerstone, expects the team to come out strong against Findlay.
“It’s nice to play at home and start off the year with home games,” she said. “We want to not start in conference play with a bunch of losses, which bit us last year. We couldn’t make up for what we had done in the beginning.”
