SCHEDULE
Ohio Dominican (20-22, 10-6 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (25-14, 11-3 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Friday, April 18 | Hillsdale, MI – Johnny Williams Field
Ohio Dominican (20-22, 10-6 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (25-14, 11-3 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. ET Friday, April 18 | Hillsdale, MI – Johnny Williams Field
Ashland (22-12, 12-4 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (25-14, 11-3 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, April 19 | Hillsdale, MI – Johnny Williams Field
Ashland (22-12, 12-4 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (25-14, 11-3 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. ET Saturday, April 19 | Hillsdale, MI – Johnny Williams Field
Malone (18-12, 6-8 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (25-14, 11-3 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, April 22 | Hillsdale, MI – Johnny Williams Field
Malone (18-12, 6-8 G-MAC) at Hillsdale College (25-14, 11-3 G-MAC) | 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, April 22 | Hillsdale, MI – Johnny Williams Field
 
Links
Live stats/Video | Hillsdale Roster | ODU Roster | Ashland Roster | Malone Roster | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Outlook
Hillsdale took care of business on the road last week, sweeping three doubleheaders against the bottom three teams in the G-MAC standings to improve to 11-3 in conference play and keep themselves firmly in the title race with five G-MAC doubleheaders to play over the next two weeks. This weekend will be a make-or-break one for those title hopes, as the Chargers host three solid teams looking to keep pace with G-MAC leader Tiffin.

This Saturday also marks the final weekend home game for Hillsdale seniors Joni Russell, Hannah Hoverman, Ashley Strick and Emma Vis, who have combined for two G-MAC titles, one regular season and one tournament, an NCAA Tournament appearance, and 125 victories. The Chargers will honor all four in between games on Saturday.

The Chargers open with a doubleheader against a dangerous Ohio Dominican squad. A perennial title contender in the G-MAC, the Panthers have had a bit of an off year so far at 20-22 overall, and likely have to win out to have any shot at a share of the crown. But ODU still is doing damage in conference play at 10-6 overall and, along with Hillsdale, are one of only two teams to take a game from the G-MAC-leading Dragons.

ODU remains a solid team offensively, with five hitters batting above .300 led by senior outfielder Kaleigh Golden, who's hitting .381 near the top of the lineup. Liana Morreale, Addie Triplett and Erica Massey are all good at getting on base as well for the Panthers, and ODU has been relying on senior Emily Holland, junior Kendrick Sterling, and freshman Avery Mueller, the top three players on the team in RBIs, to drive them in. ODU has been hot in conference play, batting .321 so far.

In the circle, ODU has a junior veteran in Marlee Jacobs, who was a top starter for the team each of her first two years and has a 3.26 ERA in 23 appearances this year. At times this year, however, she's been outshone by her freshman teammate and ODU's other starter, Emma Grau, who has the team's best ERA (2.36) and 91 strikeouts to 20 walks. A second freshman, Amanda Spidell, got off to a strong start this season but hasn't played since March 18. In Spidell's absence, Morreale is the bullpen arm off the bench for the Panthers. Defensively, ODU is one of the top teams in the G-MAC with a .967 fielding percentage.

The Chargers face another tough opponent after ODU in Ashland, who at 12-4 sit just behind the Chargers in the G-MAC standings. It's been a breakout year for the Eagles under first-year coach Jackie Price after a couple of seasons on the edges of contention in the G-MAC, but Ashland will have to prove it's for real in the final two weeks of the season with three of their four remaining doubleheaders coming against the top three teams currently in the G-MAC standings.

Ashland has a strong and experienced offense headlined by three returning All-G-Mac honorees in Cassidy Shaffer, Delaney Maynard and Danielle Robbins, all key hitters for the Eagles. In addition to that trio, sophomore Sophia Martin has emerged as a huge threat in the middle of the lineup, hitting .340 with a team-high five home runs and 33 RBIs. Two more emerging threats are catcher Delaney Keith, who's leading regulars on the team with a 1.039 OPS, and Central Connecticut St. transfer Maren Metikosh, who's seized a job in the outfield for the Eagles. Ashland's .959 fielding percentage is a shade below ODU's but still ranks in the top four in the G-MAC.

In the circle, Ashland has three veteran pitchers who are all having career years. Senior Delaney Lis is the ace with an 11-4 record and a strong ERA, while junior Bryn Grabowski is a second starter with little drop off from Lis, including a 2.64 ERA. Shaffer is the top reliever with impressive numbers and a 6-0 record when either of the two run into trouble, with Abbe McNabb also an option out of the bullpen for Ashland.

Hillsdale finishes a six game homestand on Tuesday against a hungry Malone squad that's fighting to stay on the right side of the G-MAC Tournament bubble at 6-8 in G-MAC play. The Pioneers are a dangerous foe because of their strong pitching staff, headlined by one of the conference's top aces in sophomore Mia Rose, who has a 2.29 ERA, three shutouts and 110 strikeouts in 16 appearances. Rose is backed by Notre Dame College transfer Allie Weilnau, who's been a strong second starter this season, with a 2.34 ERA and a 11-4 record as well. The two pitchers have combined to throw 187 of Malone's 192.1 innings this season, so it's unlikely the Chargers will see a reliever on Tuesday unless the games get extremely out of hand.

Offensively, Malone has not put up big numbers against NCAA DII competition, but the Pioneers have shown a knack for generating runs when necessary late in games. Rose has been the team's most dangerous hitter as well as its best pitcher, hitting .442 with a team-high 17 RBIs and four of the team's five home runs. Freshman Jessie Crookston also has done real damage in limited playing time at the plate. Among every-day players, Sydney Conti is good at getting on base, and Marlee Pireu, Aricka Young and Madi Pukansky have double-digit RBIs as well for Malone. The Pioneers also have one of the G-MAC's top defenses, with a sterling .970 fielding percentage, to help keep scoring down and games tight.

Hillsdale has high hopes for the 2025 season, looking to build off four straight years of 30 or more wins and avenge an unfortunate ending to the 2024 season that saw them miss out on the NCAA Tournament by a razor-thin margin in the final week. So far, the Chargers are on pace for a fifth straight 30 win campaign, and have battled the top teams in the Midwest region to a virtual standstill in competitive doubleheaders while remaining among the G-MAC title contenders.

The Chargers have been a solid offensive team so far, with six lineup regulars hitting above .290, led by returning All-Region player Maggie Olaveson who leads the team in batting average (.363), OPS (1.070), doubles (eight), RBIs (28), and home runs (five), while Anna Chellman is tied with Olaveson with eight doubles and 26 RBIs. Taylor Lewis and Sydney Davis are both hitting above .322 as well for Hillsdale, and each with 24 or more RBIs as well. The Chargers also have the ability to manufacture runs on the basepaths, as Lewis and Emma Sather are a combined 45-for-50 on stolen base attempts and are both in the top 10 all-time in Hillsdale history in single season and career stolen bases. As a team, the Chargers have 87 stolen bases and are on pace to break the program's all-time single season record.

In the circle, Joni Russell has been an All-American level starter and a record-setter for Hillsdale for three seasons and is off to a strong start, with a 13-2 record, a 0.76 ERA, and a G-MAC-leading 141 strikeouts with six shutouts and four G-MAC Player of the Week awards. Russell already holds Hillsdale's career strikeouts record (800), set the program's career shutouts record (23) earlier this season, and is closing in on both the program's wins and innings pitched records. Hillsdale has two other competent starters in Anistyn Foster and Mackenzi Maxson, each of whom had a shutout this past weekend, as well as reliever Grace Harris. As a staff, the Chargers are riding a G-MAC-best 1.56 ERA in conference games.

Hillsdale has an 18-14 edge on Ohio Dominican all-time in a competitive series dating back to 2005. The Chargers swept ODU on the road last season but lost their most recent meeting with the Panthers 2-1 in the 2024 G-MAC Tournament. The Chargers are 15-33 against Ashland since 2002 as the Eagles have been a powerhouse at times at the NCAA DII level, but lately the series has tilted in Hillsdale's favor as the Chargers have won seven of the last eight meetings. The two teams split a doubleheader in Ashland last season. Lastly, Hillsdale has dominated the all-time series with Malone, going 19-1 in 20 meetings since the series started in 2013, but the Chargers' lone loss to Malone did come at home in 2021.