Schedule
Hillsdale College (29-16, 15-5 G-MAC) at Cedarville (17-26, 12-8 G-MAC) | 2 p.m. ET Thursday, April 24 | Cedarville, OH – Lady Jacket Field
Hillsdale College (29-16, 15-5 G-MAC) at Cedarville (17-26, 12-8 G-MAC) | 2 p.m. ET Thursday, April 24 | Cedarville, OH – Lady Jacket Field
Hillsdale College (29-16, 15-5 G-MAC) at Walsh (10-26, 6-14 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, April 26 | North Canton, OH – WU Softball Complex
Hillsdale College (29-16, 15-5 G-MAC) at Walsh (10-26, 6-14 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. ET Saturday, April 26 | North Canton, OH – WU Softball Complex
 
Links
Live stats/Video | Hillsdale Roster | Cedarville Roster | Walsh Roster | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Outlook
At 15-5 in the G-MAC and three games back of leader Tiffin, Hillsdale's hopes of a share of the regular season title are slim entering the final weekend. The Chargers still have plenty to play for, though, with a top four finish in the conference on the line, and their own resume for an at-large bid to the NCAA DII Midwest Regional to consider. Hillsdale is a 3-1 weekend or a sweep of Cedarville from locking up a top four finish, and with it, the home team distinction and the opportunity to bat last in their opener in the G-MAC Tournament next week.

The Chargers open with a crucial doubleheader tomorrow, Thursday, against Cedarville, who is below .500 on the season after a rough start but lurking in a tie for fifth currently with a 12-8 mark in G-MAC play after making significant improvements in the back half of the season.

Cedarville has gotten in the mix in the G-MAC with a rock solid offense, hitting .314 on the year and .334 in conference play with consistent production throughout the lineup, including six regulars hitting .330 or better. Leadoff hitter Mackenzie Lashuay bats .386 with 13 extra base hits and 27 RBIs, while junior and cleanup hitter Ella Leonard is just a hair behind at .385 and lead the team with three home runs 30 RBIs. Freshmen Caitlin Colley and Emilie Fout are each hitting .330 or better and are key players high in the batting order as well. Cedarville is missing Dana Croyts, who's been out since March, and Camryn Taktak, who sat out last weekend – if either are back healthy on Thursday they would be impact additions.

While the offense has been good, Cedarville has struggled in the circle, with a 5.30 ERA that ranks 10^th in the G-MAC. The Yellow Jackets' top three pitchers are all freshman, led by Maya Merrill, who has the team's best ERA (4.59) and most strikeouts (55) and a 6-12 record in 23 appearances. Lashuay, also a pitcher, and freshman Kara Adkins have been splitting the second starter duties, with Adkins seizing the job more recently with a 7-5 record. Freshman Emma Wylie also has 19 appearances, mostly in relief, for Cedarville on the season. Not helping Cedarville's young pitching staff is a defense that ranks 12^th in the G-MAC with a .936 fielding percentage.

Hillsdale closes out the regular season with a doubleheader at Walsh on Saturday. The Cavaliers were 6-14 in the G-MAC entering play on Wednesday, still in contention for the eighth seed in the G-MAC Tourney but needing a lot to go their way and a lot of victories down the stretch to keep their season alive.

Walsh has had issues offensively, with a team batting average of .232 that just edges out Lake Erie at the bottom of the G-MAC standings. The Cavaliers do have three solid hitters batting at 2, 3 and 4 in the order that can give teams problems in junior Leah Musall and freshman Danielle Stewart, both leading the team's regulars in batting average, and senior Madi Russo, the only Walsh player with multiple home runs and tied for the team lead on extra base hits. Leadoff hitter Lindsey Bingham has a team-high 18 RBIs as well for the Cavaliers.

In the circle, Walsh returns its top three pitchers from last season, led by ace Maci Smythe, whose 3-11 record doesn't do justice to a solid 3.24 ERA and 59 strikeouts. Sophomore Chloe Sayre has also been effective in 10 starts, with a 3.50 ERA and a 5-5 record, and junior Lindsey Leeds also sees regular play with six starts for the Cavaliers as well. Walsh has several relievers who've seen play recently beyond its top three pitchers, including Jaelyn Peterson, Delaney Peters and Katie Gardner. Walsh's defense ranks 10^th in the G-MAC with a .943 fielding percentage.

Hillsdale has had a solid season, closing in on 30 wins for the fifth straight campaign, and staying mathematically alive in the G-MAC title race into the final week. The Chargers are motivated to get back to the NCAA DII Midwest Regional after a number of unlucky breaks in the last week of the season in 2024 left them on the outside looking in, and are in position to make the field with a solid next two weeks.  

The Chargers have performed well offensively so far, with six lineup regulars hitting above .290, led by returning All-Region player Maggie Olaveson who leads the team in batting average (.359), OPS (1.064), RBIs (32), and home runs (6), while Anna Chellman is tied with Olaveson with 10 doubles and also has 30 RBIs. Taylor Lewis, Sydney Davis and Emma Vis are all hitting above .314 as well for Hillsdale, and each also with 24 or more RBIs as a variety of different players have stepped up at different times to get the job done offensively. The Chargers also have the ability to manufacture runs on the basepaths, as Lewis and Emma Sather are a combined 49-for-55 on stolen base attempts and are both in the top 10 all-time in Hillsdale history in single season and career stolen bases, with Sather tying the Chargers' single-season stolen base record with 31 so far. As a team, the Chargers have 93 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 has continued to look like one of the best pitchers in the country, with a 17-2 record, a 0.67 ERA, and a G-MAC-leading 169 strikeouts with eight shutouts and five G-MAC Pitcher of the Week awards. Russell holds all four of Hillsdale's major career pitching records – strikeouts (828), wins (67), shutouts (25) and innings pitched (600.2) and is also the G-MAC record-holder in both strikeouts and shutouts. Hillsdale has two other competent starters in Anistyn Foster and Mackenzi Maxson, as well as reliever Grace Harris. As a staff, the Chargers are riding a G-MAC-best 1.63 ERA in conference games.

Cedarville has been a thorn in the side of the Chargers throughout their time in the G-MAC, as the only team Hillsdale has never swept in a G-MAC doubleheader. The Chargers do lead the all-time series with the Yellow Jackets despite that, 9-6. Hillsdale is 15-5 all-time against Walsh, and are playing the Cavaliers for the first time since a split in 2023 after last season's doubleheader between the two teams was cancelled due to weather and never made up.