The Hillsdale softball team moved up to second place in the G-MAC after winning doubleheaders against the Ursuline Arrows and Lake Erie Storm, as junior pitcher Erin Kapteyn was named G-MAC Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week. 

The Chargers won the first game against the Arrows 17-0 and won the nightcap 12-1 in Pepper Pike, Ohio, April 23. The next day, the Chargers bested the Storm 4-0 in the first and won the second 10-0 in Painesville, Ohio. 

Hillsdale also competed in a doubleheader against the Ohio Dominican Panthers Wednesday night, splitting the pair of games with a 2-1 win and a 4-1 loss. In the first of these games, sophomore pitcher Joni Russell broke the Chargers’ program record for single-season strikeouts, reaching 217 after her fifth strikeout of the game.

“We got strong pitching from both Joni Russell and Erin Kapteyn again,” head coach Kyle Gross said. “Along with strong pitching, our offense did really well, scoring 40 runs over the four games. Freshman Anna Chellman had two home runs, and senior Jenna Cantalupo, sophomore Hannah Hoverman, and freshman Maggie Olaveson each added a home run.”

Junior infielder Grace Wallner said the Chargers’ offense has a combination of big hitters and consistent contact hitters.

“There isn’t a single person in our lineup that the other team doesn’t need to worry about — they should worry about all of us,” Wallner said. “Overall, I’m just really happy with how far we’ve come this season, and I’m really excited to see how these next few weeks pan out as we get into the postseason.”

While Ursuline and Lake Erie are ranked low in the G-MAC, they have been playing competitive games against higher ranked teams lately, Wallner said.

“Lake Erie specifically has had a few close games, with one or two run deficits, against some of the better teams in our conference, so we didn’t want to show up and take anything lightly,” Wallner said. “We won all four games this weekend by a comfortable amount of runs and secured our spot in the conference championship tournament next week.” 

The Chargers will play their last regular season games at home against the Findlay Oilers April 28. Cantalupo, the team’s only senior, will be honored for senior day.