The Hillsdale College softball team concluded its third-place season in the GLIAC with 19 conference wins, the most in school history, after being eliminated from the GLIAC Tournament by the Grand Valley Lakers. Overall, the team finished sixth in the NCAA Midwest Region.
“They predicted us for eighth in the league, and we got third, and played for second place on the last day of the season against Grand Valley,” Abraham said. “You’ve got Wayne State and Grand Valley — they’re both very good schools — and we, little Hillsdale, were right there with both them at the end of the season. So we couldn’t be happier. We had a great season.”
The Chargers clinched a spot in the GLIAC Tournament after sweeping Ferris State and Saginaw Valley and splitting against Wayne State in a 5-1 weekend earlier in the season.
“It’s been better than any other year here,” senior outfielder Ainsley Ellison said. “Every year at the end of the season, we’re crossing our fingers seeing if we’re going to get in the GLIAC Tournament and we knew a week-and-a-half in advance that we were going to have that opportunity.”
Facing Saginaw Valley in the first round of the tournament, the Chargers lineup struggled, with the only hit of the game coming from junior outfielder Bekah Kastning in the seventh inning of the 3-0 loss.
“Our pitching was great,” Ellison said. “Sarah Klopfer did really well. We made a couple of little mistakes, but our defense has been really strong all year. We just really needed to get the bats going.”
Next, Hillsdale faced Grand Valley in an elimination game after the Lakers were upset by Findlay in the first round. The Chargers fell 6-3, with freshman second baseman Amanda Marra scoring two of the Chargers’ three runs. Sophomore first baseman Haley Lawrence went 1-for-2 with 3 RBIs, driving in Marra and junior catcher Cassie Asselta with a double in the fourth inning, and Marra in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly. Ultimately, they were unable to match Grand Valley’s six runs, and were eliminated from the tournament.
“We played two good teams, faced two good pitchers, and we lost two games,” head coach Joe Abraham said. “We did not play poorly, we were just playing good teams, and you’re not going to win every game.Grand Valley was just a better team, and they should be, given their resources.”
Despite the results of the tournament, the team finished its season with 26 wins overall, the most achieved in a season in 14 years.
“We had a whole bunch of girls have career years, and our two pitchers — the number one reason why we did as well as we did was our pitching,” Abraham said. “Our hitting was excellent, our defense was excellent, the girls had good attitudes, but nonetheless our number one factor was our two pitchers. What they did this year is just unbelievable, the way they stepped up and performed.”
Both senior pitchers — Sarah Grunert and Sarah Klopfer — finished out their careers with their best seasons to date.
“It was a great season,” Klopfer said. “It was a school best, and something to be proud about. I couldn’t have been happier to end my career like that.”
Six players earned GLIAC accolades, with junior outfielder Bekah Kastning and senior pitcher Sarah Klopfer making First Team All-GLIAC, and senior utility player Sarah Grunert and sophomore designated player Kelsey Gockman making Second Team All-GLIAC. Marra and Ellison both earned honorable mention All-GLIAC.
Additionally, Abraham was voted GLIAC Coach of the Year, a title Ellison said reflected his skillful leadership in a year marked by several challenges.
“I think our team struggled with a lot of adversity this season with injuries and having a small roster,” Ellison said. “He did an incredible job of managing our team, and I think other coaches in the GLIAC recognize that.”
Asselta said the Chargers’ strong team and individual performances this season were complemented by the direction and support of the coaches.
“Our entire coaching staff this season just created an entirely different mentality than we’ve had before,” she said. “They’ve helped us remember that we deserved everything we had this season — every win, every play, our friendship — anything you could want in a team is what we had.”