After a rough start to the season, the Hillsdale College softball team's trip to Florida over Spring Break is starting to look like a turning point.
Entering The Spring Games showcase in Winter Haven, Florida on Tuesday, the Chargers sat at just 4-14 overall, but in its time at the DiamondPlex, the Chargers have now won four straight, and in impressive fashion.
That includes victories over Wayne State and Caldwell late on Thursday night, as Hillsdale outhit the Warriors 6-3 for a critical Midwest Region win and rallied from behind in the final inning for a 6-5 victory over the Cougars.
Against Wayne St., the Chargers got another strong start from freshman pitcher Joni Russell, who pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts, one walk and no earned runs for her fifth victory of the season.
Hillsdale gave Russell the run support she needed, as junior Jenna Cantalupo put the Chargers up in the bottom of the second with a RBI single, and Madison Rathbun hit a three-run home run to give Hillsdale a 4-0 edge in the bottom of the fourth.
Wayne St. made a push in the top of the fifth, taking advantage of a Hillsdale error to plate three runs and cut the deficit to 4-3, but Cantalupo and Elaine Townley each added an insurance run on a RBI single for the Chargers, and Russell shut the door in the final two innings, only allowing one baserunner to clinch the victory.
Cantalupo went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs at the plate to lead the Chargers, and Townley went 3 for 4 with a double as well. Rathbun added a single to her home run to give Hillsdale a third player with multiple hits in the victory.
While the Chargers led throughout the win over the Warriors, Hillsdale had to rally from behind in the nightcap against Caldwell. The Cougars played two in the bottom of the second and tacked on a third run in the bottom of the third to take an early 3-0 lead over Hillsdale.
The Chargers cut into the deficit with a two-run home run by freshman Ashley Strick, the first of her career, but Caldwell answered back with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-2 edge.
Hillsdale refused to quit, as freshman Hannah Hoverman hit her second home run in three days in the top of the sixth to give the Chargers life, trailing by one entering the top of the seventh and down to their final three outs.
This time, it was a fifth-year senior coming through for Hillsdale, as catcher Madison Stoner blasted a two-run home run to give the Chargers a 6-5 edge. Caldwell got two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, looking to walk off, but Erin Kapteyn ended the threat and earned her third victory of the season in relief with a strikeout.
Cantalupo again had a big game at the plate for the Chargers, going 3 for 4, while Stoner added a single to her game-winning home run and Natalie Stepanenko chipped in two hits as well.
Senior Camryn Olson got the start for the Chargers, pitching five innings with three strikeouts, three walks and two earned runs, and Kapteyn finished the game with two innings of relief, striking out one, walking two and giving up just one hit and no earned runs.
Now 8-14 overall, Hillsdale looks to finish The Spring Games strong in its final day today, with contests against LeMoyne and Shepherd.
Photo by Morgan Hoverman