Sophomore Mackenzi Maxson has nine strikeouts this season. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department
The softball team is returning from Florida with an 8-2 record after facing seven teams over spring break.
Despite early losses of 1-0 and 6-3 to the Rollins College Tars, the Chargers went undefeated the rest of the week. The team defeated the Florida Southern College Moccasins 8-2 and 6-5, Eckerd College Tritons 7-5 and 3-0, Slippery Rock University Lions 1-0, Purdue University Northwest Lions 4-1, Shepherd University Rams 7-6, and Saint Anselm College Hawks 8-3.
Five of the Chargers’ ten games went to eight innings, which the Chargers controlled with a record of 4-1.
Rollins College softball is a top team within the Sunshine State Conference, according to the conference’s website. Head coach Kyle Gross said he hoped the Chargers would have been able to execute these games better. Gross said he believes the losses against Rollins were a learning experience for the Chargers to use to begin their winning streak.
“We definitely learned from our lack of execution in the first game, and in extra innings, it’s all about execution,” Gross said. “Whichever team executes the best during the extra innings is typically the winner.”
Junior Hannah Hoverman thinks the eight-inning games proved the Chargers’ ability to adapt and endure long games during a high-intensity week of competition.
“The game we eventually got up by about six runs really proved the strength we have as a team and our ability to fight for long periods of time,” Hoverman said. “We’re all tired after weeks of competition, and this long week of playing, and we were still able to fight for all our games.”
Charger softball came back against Purdue University Northwest last week, to whom they lost in February 2-0.
“This game we put away and scored early on,” Gross said. “That’s a big comeback, a big win for us.”
Senior Hailey Holtman said she thinks the team was motivated to win this game because it was an important matchup going into upcoming regional games later this season.
“We were determined to win,” Holtman said. “We all knew what that game meant for our eventual potential to go to regionals, so we all played with the intensity necessary to win.”
This upcoming weekend the Chargers’ are set to begin conference play. They are scheduled to play doubleheaders away against the Malone University Pioneers on Friday, the Walsh University Cavaliers on Saturday, and the Findlay University Oilers on Monday. According to Gross, this is a big weekend for the Chargers, but they believe the preseason prepared them well.
“We’ve had a really good preseason, but it’s now that is important,” Gross said. “Conference is what it’s all about and this is where we have to be our best.”
Holtman said she believes the team will perform well in conference play as long as they continue to work hard and believe in the season results that are within reach.
“We’re trying to stay hardworking and believing that we can have a great year this year as long as we put that effort and belief into it,” Holtman said.
