Courtesy | Summer Fields
The Hillsdale College softball team won both of its games against Lawrence Tech this past weekend after Kent State backed out due to health concerns.
The games had to be pushed forward an hour each to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to accommodate the changes. Despite the challenges, Hillsdale pulled through and won both games 7-3 and 4-1, respectively.
“Overall, it was a very good day for Hillsdale softball,” coach Kyle Gross said. “We moved a lot of people around, and, you know, made a lot of the substitutions, but it seemed like no matter who was playing where or at what time we had a strong team on the field the whole day.”
In addition to Kent State’s absence, the team had to deal with another curveball: a change of venue. The morning of the games, Eastern Michigan claimed that their field was not playable. Both games were moved to Skyline High School in Ann Arbor where Gross and the Lawrence Tech’s coach had to rake the field by hand and secure equipment to line the field.
“The coaches were great from both teams like they really just went out there and the players didn’t really have to worry about it at all,” sophomore first baseman Grace Warner said. “They kind of just had us go through our warm up and were like, don’t worry we’re taking care of it. It was just nice because it was like our first game back and it was like a casual game, but the coaches were still so willing to sacrifice for us and work so that we were able to play and have the experience.”
Warner had two runs batted in (RBI) singles in the sixth inning that pushed the Chargers ahead with a 2-1 lead. The pitchers did not give up an earned run all day. Freshman pitcher Joni Russell had eight strikeouts in three innings.
Russell said she kept the “mind of a goldfish” during the game, focusing only on her next pitch.
“I was super nervous,” Russell said. “But then all the girls started cheering for me and just uplifting me with encouraging words, and it was amazing. Coach Gross kept telling me one pitch at a time, and just trying to make me get that mentality of, focusing on what you’re doing now, not what happened in the past.”
In terms of improvements for their upcoming games, Gross said there is room for growth on the defensive side. Other team goals included making things such as base-running a little smoother, and continuing to experiment with the team configuration that places everybody where they best fit.
“We have errors here and there, so cleaning that up will be key, which is totally normal for the beginning of the season,” senior pitcher Camryn Olson said. “I’d also say hitting-wise, just being more aggressive. This past weekend, one of the pitchers we were facing threw a lot of first pitch strikes, and we were trying to be patient and wait for our perfect pitch, but we needed to jump on that first pitch strike, and the coach even emphasized this in the game.”
Their next game is this Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Johnny Williams homefield. The game will be played against Hillsdale alumni. The following day, Sunday the 26 at 10 a.m., is their golf tournament fundraiser at White Oaks golf course. On October 3 the team will also be playing two home games at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. against Madonna University.
“I think after the first games the physical talent is definitely there,” Warner said. “Pitching was outstanding, our offense was pretty decent for it being the first game, and then defensively it’s all there. I’m excited to see with two more weeks of us practicing as a team, and just spending time together, how we will come out in our next games, after having more time to grow together and build team chemistry.”