On Sunday, the women’s softball team suffered two defeats to Ashland, finishing 8-2 and 6-4, dropping the Chargers to 3-14 overall in the season.
“We were up 4-3 going into the last inning of the second game,” head coach Joe Abraham said. “But two errors and a home run later . . .”
The team has made 42 errors in seven games, averaging 2.5 errors per game, Abraham said. The average team makes 1-1.5.
Hillsdale committed eight errors alone in the doubleheader against Ashland, providing the opposing team with ample opportunities. Ashland’s batting average after Hillsdale’s errors was .833 (5-for-6) for the two games.
“At times we’re improving and at times our defense simply lets us down,” Abraham said. “Our pitching has been solid, our hitting has been fairly good, but we really need to clean up our defense if we’re going to have any chance at winning games.”
Assistant coach Erin Porter said that the team needs to get back to fundamental defense “and stop trying to do too much before we even have the ball.”
Part of the team’s difficulty comes from the fact that seven players with significant playing time are all in their first year of college softball.
“Because we’re so young, we have to have some patience,” Abraham said. “Some of the mistakes we’re making are correctable, so we’re going to start working on those in practice.”
One of the day’s high points was junior Kristi Gordon, who secured two hits in each half of the doubleheader, going 4-for-7 overall, and continuing her current five-game hitting streak.
The chargers were supposed to play Malone in a Saturday doubleheader, but the opposing team canceled due to a lack of players healthy enough to play. Because those games are not considered a forfeit under GLIAC guidelines, the Chargers will make them up later this month, Abraham said.
“We will get better in the second half of the season,” Abraham said. “We’re really close to being a solid team.”
Sunday was Prostate Cancer Awareness Day. The team, assisted by Ashland, raised money through raffles and the sale of baked goods.
