The Hillsdale College softball team split the games of its home doubleheader on Saturday, April 2 against Cedarville University.
The Chargers lost the first game 6-3, giving up runs in five straight innings before scoring seven runs in the last three innings of the second game to complete a late-game comeback ande secure a 10-9 win.
“Saturday saw some excitement and heartache both as we split with Cedarville,” Head Coach Kyle Gross said. “The Yellow Jackets took game one, but we battled back in game two with a three-run homerun in the first inning by Jenna Cantalupo then Elaine Townley had a walk off hit in the bottom of the seventh to secure the 10-9 victory.”
Across the two games, the Chargers scored 13 runs, had 20 hits, and junior utility player Jenna Cantalupo’s homer in the second game marked the team’s only home run of the day.
Senior third baseman Elaine Townley was named G-MAC Position Player of the Week, becoming the third Charger to win a POTW award this season, the first position player to do it. Townley hit .750 across the four games this week, including two doubles and three RBIs, the final of which scored freshman Olivia Latimer to grab a walk-off win in the second game against Cedarville.
“It was a big honor,” Townley said. “I didn’t expect it at all. This is the first time I’ve gotten something like that in my four years, so I was super excited. It was nice to be recognized for that.”
The team lost its first game 6-3, but they were able to come away with a 10-9 win in the second game. Despite the Chargers’ 10 hits, they left eight on base in the first game. In the second game, Cedarville did not give up easy, scoring seven runs in a row early on, but the Chargers capitalized on their offensive game and took advantage of Cerdarville’s errors.
“You can’t be on everyday and it just happened that for the pitchers it was the game against Cedarville,” freshman pitcher Joni Russell said. “Days like that it’s great to have the defense and the hitting that we have. Cedarville just got more hits than we did in the first game but our hitters had the pitchers backs to pull us through with a win in the second game.”
Hillsdale is currently second place in G-MAC play, behind Ohio Dominican University in the first place spot following a recent sweep that moved them to 7-1 in G-MAC play. The Chargers sit at 15-17 overall, and 5-1 in conference play.
“We have put so much work in the cages this year,” Townley said. “Our hitting, we’ve just been working on it every single day for the last few months. Every player on this team and in the lineup is so dedicated to being the best hitter they can be for the team. It’s all coming together nicely along with our defense and our pitchers have just kept grinding the whole season.”
The Chargers will play two non-conference games against Davenport University on Thursday, April 7 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and two conference games against Malone University on Saturday, April 9 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The weekend will end with two conference games against Walsh University on Sunday, April 10 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
“On a day that we did not have our best pitching performances, we really fought offensively to beat one of the top pitchers in our conference,” Gross said. “I am very happy with the way we came back to win the second game, but hope to play a little better all-around this weekend at Malone and Walsh.”