The Hillsdale College softball team settled for another hard-fought split at home against a tough G-MAC opponent on Friday, taking a 4-1 win over Ohio Dominican in the first game before its comeback fell short in a 6-3 loss in the nightcap.

Hillsdale did damage early in the opener to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Anna Chellman led off the bottom of the second inning with a double and Emma Vis walked to give Hillsdale two baserunners. 

After the Panthers recorded two outs, Emma Sather came through with a clutch hit, smacking a single through the right side to score Chellman and give Hillsdale a 1-0 lead. The Chargers took advantage of two costly errors by ODU after Sather's hit to plate two more runs and take an early 3-0 lead.

Sydney Davis added another run in the bottom of the third on a RBI single by Sydney Davis. That 4-0 lead would hold up for the Chargers thanks to error-free defense and another strong start from senior Joni Russell in the circle. Russell took a shutout deep into the final inning before surrendering a single run with two outs, and struck out seven while walking one in her 14th victory of the season.

Davis was 2 for 2 at the plate with a RBI hit to lead Hillsdale offensively, as the Chargers scored four runs on seven hits.

Hillsdale fell behind early in the nightcap, as ODU scored two in the first inning and took advantage of a Chargers error to plate two more in the third and take a 4-0 lead. 

Trailing by four runs, the Chargers got an opportunity in the bottom of the sixth with two outs, as ODU committed back-to-back errors to allow two Hillsdale runs to score. Emma Vis added a clutch RBI single to right field to cut ODU's lead to 4-3, but Hillsdale couldn't add more in the inning, and a costly error by the Chargers with two outs in the top of the seventh allowed ODU to get two of those runs back and take a 6-3 lead to the bottom of the seventh. Hillsdale went down in order in the bottom of the frame to give ODU the win and settle for a split.

Sather went 2 for 4 at the plate to lead Hillsdale offensively. Anistyn Foster (4-3) took the loss for Hillsdale, with Mackenzi Maxson pitching five innings of relief with three strikeouts and no earned runs.

Hillsdale is now 26-15 overall, 12-4 in G-MAC play, and hosts 12-5 Ashland tomorrow in a battle of the third and fourth-place teams in the G-MAC standings and a matchup of real consequence for seeding in the upcoming G-MAC Tournament. It'll also be Senior Day for the Chargers, as Hillsdale honors graduating seniors Russell, Vis, Hannah Hoverman and Ashley Strick on the occasion of their final weekend home contests.

Photo by Reva Ludwig