Battling the bitter cold and a tough first-game loss on Tuesday, the Hillsdale College softball team rebounded to win its second game against the Ashland University Eagles 10-4, scoring in all seven innings.
Eight of the nine starting players had hits, with junior Bekah Kastning going three-for-three with a single, a double, a home run, as well as a key diving catch in centerfield.
“In that second game, we had a whole host of hitters break out and have two-hit games,” head coach Joe Abraham said. “We had seven different people get an RBI. That almost never happens in a game.”
Junior catcher Cassie Asselta said the team’s strong offensive play took advantage of Ashland’s three errors.
“They had a decent amount of errors — the pitcher had one, the second baseman had one, and we just really capitalized on that,” Asselta said.
Senior pitcher Sarah Klopfer’s strong performance also helped secure the victory, leaving Ashland with no walks allowed and five strikeouts over seven innings of work.
“Sarah Klopfer had a little trouble in the first inning, but then settled down and had a fantastic game,” Abraham said. “In the first game, Sarah Grunert only gave up three runs, and none of them were earned runs.”
For the first time this season, all 14 players on the roster saw the field.
“Everyone got in that game, so it really was an overall team win,” assistant coach Tristan Wilcox said.
“And it wasn’t just giving people playing time. We needed everybody,” Abraham added.
Freshman second baseman Amanda Marra said the victory was energizing after the team lost its first game against Ashland 3-2. In the top of the seventh inning, Ashland broke a 2-2 tie with a run Hillsdale was unable to answer.
“In the first game, we made errors on two balls that they hit hard,” Abraham said. “A lot of time, you have to give credit to the team that’s hitting when the other team makes errors, and that went both ways for us — against us in game one and for us in game two.”
The Chargers also split their doubleheader on Saturday against the Walsh University Cavaliers, winning their first game 5-3. Both senior pitcher Sarah Grunert and Asselta hit home runs, bringing in two runs each against strong pitching.
“We just had some very clutch hits in the first game with runners on base,” Grunert said. “When we started out, we were down by one and then we came back and scored. We had good hitting execution.”
This weekend, the team will face Ferris State University and Grand Valley State University, who are both currently at the top of the conference, with Ferris’s only losses being to Grand Valley on Tuesday. The team will also play a rescheduled game against Malone University this Tuesday after Malone’s field was snowed-out last weekend.
