The Hillsdale College softball team won seven of its 12 games from March 12-19. Of the team’s seven wins, six came in a row for the team’s longest win streak of the season so far.
“There are teams out there that come out swinging right out of the gate, and they win every game they play,” fifth-year senior catcher Madison Stoner said. “For us, I think it’s getting used to being in that setting again. I’m not sure exactly what it is that causes us to have our turn around in the Spring Games. It’s just how it always goes.”
The team has 10 total wins after finishing up its non-conference play, adding 71 runs, 10 home runs, and 65 hits this weekend. The team also took home a regional win against Wayne State University. Freshman pitcher Joni Russell won G-MAC Pitcher of the Week, only giving up two earned runs in 20.2 innings.
“I think we played really well last week, and it leads into our conference season on a really good note,” senior Kasidy Carson said. “The momentum we picked up in Florida was something we’ve been working towards and it finally started to fall our way. Winning against Wayne State was huge for us. Although it doesn’t count towards our conference record, that win will be helpful if we were to be in a situation like last year competing for an at-large bid into regionals.”
The team traveled all over Florida from Miami to Orlando, facing intense heat, humidity, and rain throughout the week. Tuesday, March 15 marked the beginning of the six-game streak. The first game they played that day, they won 4-3 against Lock Haven University. All their runs were scored in the seventh inning.
“Lock Haven was probably like our turning point game,” Stoner said. “It was very close, but we stayed in it all seven innings to fight. We proved that we can win at any point. You know what I mean?”
The second Tuesday game was played against the University of New Haven, and they broke the tie in the eighth inning because of a walk-off by freshman catcher Hannah Hoverman.
“I was mentally preparing for it because I was on the bench right before it happened, so I went into it knowing ‘okay, I’m due for a hit.’” Hoverman said. “Usually, we’re not allowed to go out there for home runs, but since it was a walk off at the end of the game, they were allowed to come out and cheer with me. It was very exciting.”
The team has officially entered into the conference season after finishing spring games. The Chargers will play at home on March 25 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. against Lake Erie College. Players will then travel to Tiffin, Ohio to play at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. against Tiffin University.
“We’re going to be focusing on really fine-tuning everything that we’ve been doing because we have the foundation of every aspect of the game,” Stoner said. “Our pitching staff is phenomenal. We are hitting decently well. Our fielding is good. We haven’t had many errors. We will just be getting down to the nitty-gritty and making sure that everything that could happen is covered so that we’re prepared for it if it were to happen.”
