Courtesy: Ashley Van Hoose
The Hillsdale College softball team won three out of its four games in Ohio this week, beating Malone University April 11 twice and Ohio Dominican University April 12. Hillsdale is now fifth place overall in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, standing 23-16 overall and 11-5 in the G-MAC.
The first game against Malone University was a 10-inning game that ended in a 5-3 victory. Malone tied Hillsdale in the sixth inning by scoring two runs, and the teams went back and forth until Hillsdale broke through with two runs in the top of the 10th with senior Emma Sather as the tiebreaking runner on second base.
Head coach Kyle Gross said Malone University has improved every year, and its strong No. 1 pitcher made it difficult for the Chargers to score runs.
“Their idea was to shut down our No. 1 pitcher and be able to score runs,” Gross said. “Our pitching did well, and we were in a 10-inning battle with them, with both starting pitchers pitching all the way. That game could have gone either way. We had our backs against the wall, but our mentality going in was that he had to win. Thankfully, it went in our favor.”
The second game against Malone was another 5-4 win. Hillsdale was able to score four runs in the sixth inning, turning the game against Malone. Senior Taylor Lewis hit one home run and one RBI, and senior Anna Chellman had two RBIs in this game. Gross attributes this victory in a large part to freshman pitcher Katie Jonas.
“Even though she is still a freshman and there’s been a lot of pressure on her, she has done really well and she’s somebody that we plan to rely on,” Gross said. “Katie’s a down ball pitcher and has good velocity. When she has control, she can really paint the corners and be in command. And that’s one of the things that had been inconsistent, but was really good this weekend.”
Hillsdale lost their first game against Ohio Dominican University 5-4. Though Hillsdale tied Ohio Dominican at the top of the seventh inning, Ohio Dominican scored another run, winning the game. Gross said that weak offense led to the game’s defeat.
“That game was kind of marred with a lot of mistakes, both physical like errors on plays and also just some lapses in running bases,” Gross said. “Senior Mackenzie Maxson threw another really good game, well enough to win. We just couldn’t overcome their offense.”
The next game against Ohio Dominican was a 3-1 victory for Hillsdale. Lewis said that offense was able to readjust to Ohio Dominican, winning runs while Jonas and sophomore pitcher Grace Harris were able to maintain good pitching defense.
“Offensively, Ohio Dominican relied on bunting a lot more to get girls on and move them over,” Lewis said. “In this second game we adjusted our defense by expecting the bunts more often. Our at-bats changed because we had an idea of what pitches to protect against in the box.”
Sophomore Ronnie Craft gained four baserunning runs throughout the whole game, and freshman Cayla Contreras declared her the MVP of the weekend.
“Craft gets on in big, crucial situations, and has helped us get the points we need to narrowly win these games,” Contreras said. “She always keeps fighting in each game, no matter how bleak the situation is, setting the example for the rest of the team.”
Gross said the Chargers were able to shore up their pitching game this weekend, allowing them to break their four-loss streak. However, he was disappointed in losing the one game against Ohio Dominican.
“I think the preparation this week with our pitching staff was pivotal,” Gross said. “Our pitchers did a complete turnaround from last games, due to the scrimmages and extra training we did. Right now, we’re going to work on a little bit of trying to cut out mistakes. Mistakes are going to happen, but, you know, because I feel we should have been able to win all four games this weekend.”
The Chargers will face Thomas More University and Kentucky Wesleyan College at home April 18 and 19.
