Charger softball loses three of four over weekend, but pulls an upset

The Hillsdale College softball team suffered two close losses Sunday afternoon against the GLIAC leading Cardinals of Saginaw Valley State.

The Chargers fall to 10-14 on the season (4-8 GLIAC), while the Cardinals improve to 24-6 on the season (11-1 GLIAC).

Cardinal pitcher Jade Fulton picked up her 11th win of the season, holding the Chargers to just five hits, while striking out four in seven innings of work.

The offensive highlight for the Chargers came off the bat of senior Dana Gould.
Gould, who is leading the team in hits this season, hit her first career homer over the left field fence in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The two-run shot cut the Cardinals lead to 5-2, but would represent the Chargers' only runs of the game.

The Chargers threatened with runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh but failed to push a run across, giving the Cardinals the 5-2 victory.

Jessica Guertin, Britt Sevey, Alyssa Grewcock and Allison Hetrick also picked up hits in the loss.

The Chargers came out aggressive in the second game, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Devon Trimmer led off the game with one of her three hits in the game, later scoring in the inning.

But the Cardinals rallied back to pick up run in both the second and third innings to take the lead 5-3.

The Chargers rallied with had runners in scoring position in both the sixth and seventh innings but couldn’t come up with the timely hit.

Senior Jamie Vandenburgh took the loss, striking out six batters in six innings of work. Freshman Jessica Guertin and senior Alyssa Grewcock both picked up their second hits of the day in the loss.

The Chargers next face Wayne State in Detroit on Wednesday, April 8th and 3:00pm.

Saturday: Chargers hand Warriors first league loss

The Chargers earned a split with Wayne State University in a GLIAC doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

Wayne State took an early lead in the first game and never looked back, picking up the win 10-1.

On the mound for the Warriors was Casey Hanes, who is currently leading all of D-II with a 0.38 ERA. The Chargers managed to score in the first inning but were shutdown from there, as Hanes allowed just our hits in the game.

The Warriors picked up two runs in the first and second innings to take a 4-1 lead.

The Chargers had runners on base each of the first four innings, but failed to cut the lead. The Warriors picked up five runs in the top of the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Gould continued to her successful season at the plate by picking up two of the Chargers four hits. Jen Berlet picked up one, while Guertin earned the Chargers only RBI.

The Chargers bounced back in game two though, holding off Wayne State to pick up the win 7-5.

Vandenbugh picked up her fifth win of the season allowing only two earned runs and striking out six in seven innings of work.

The Charger bats exploded for five runs in the top of the second inning.

Senior Britt Sevey scored Berlet on a double to centerfield. With runners on second and third, the Warriors chose to intentionally walk Gould to load the bases.

Sophomore Jordan Kellie took full advantage of the opportunity by hitting her fifth homerun and second grand slam of her career over the right field fence.

The Warriors cut the lead to 5-4 by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Chargers picked up two crucial insurance runs in the top of the seventh before Vandenburgh finished the game by striking out the Warriors leading hitter.
Berlet, Kellie and Sevey each picked up two hits in the second game.

The Warriors are now 18-7 overall and 5-1 in the GLIAC.