Schedule
#2 Hillsdale College (33-16, 19-5 G-MAC) vs #7 Cedarville (18-29, 13-11 G-MAC) | 2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 30 | Akron, OH – Firestone Stadium
 
Full Bracket and Tournament Schedule at G-MAC Championship Central
 
Links:
Live stats/Video | Hillsdale Roster | Cedarville Roster | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Outlook
Hillsdale finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak to leap into a tie for second place in the final G-MAC standings and the second seed in this week's G-MAC Tournament scheduled to begin Wednesday at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. The Chargers should be a prime contender to bring home what would be a G-MAC record-tying fourth tournament crown, but will have to navigate a tough field to bring home the title.

The Chargers' road begins with a rematch against a foe they faced on the road less than a week ago in the opening round game on Wednesday.  Cedarville, who the Chargers swept in a doubleheader on Friday to jump into the second seed, dropped from fifth to seventh in the final weekend and enters with a 13-11 G-MAC record.

Cedarville did damage in the G-MAC with a solid lineup, hitting .312 on the year and .327 in conference play with consistent production throughout the lineup, including six regulars hitting .320 or better. Leadoff hitter Mackenzie Lashuay bats .392 with 13 extra base hits and 28 RBIs, while junior and cleanup hitter Ella Leonard is just a hair behind at .369 and leads the team with three home runs and 32 RBIs. Cedarville got a major bat back in the lineup on Saturday in junior Dana Croyts, who hit .433 before missing several games with an injury. 

In the circle, the Chargers will have to tangle with freshman ace Maya Merrill, who held Hillsdale to just three hits in a 1-0 pitchers duel in the first game but got roughed up by the Chargers when the Yellow Jackets brought her back to try to close out the game in the nightcap on Friday. Mackenzie Lashuay, Kara Adkins and Emma Wylie all have starts as well for Cedarville if the Yellow Jackets choose to go in a different direction.

If Hillsdale wins, the Chargers would be off until Thursday, and Hillsdale would be forced to play again immediately with a loss. Hillsdale's next opponent would come from the matchup between third-seeded Findlay and sixth-seeded Ashland. On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Tiffin plays eighth-seeded Malone, and fourth-seeded Northwood plays fifth-seeded Ohio Dominican.

Hillsdale enters the tournament as one of the top contenders to win it along with Tiffin and Findlay, and in position to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament barring a winless showing this weekend. 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.

The Chargers have performed well offensively so far, with six lineup regulars hitting .289, led by returning All-Region player Maggie Olaveson who leads the team in batting average (.343), OPS (1.026), RBIs (34), and home runs (6), while Anna Chellman is tied with Olaveson with 10 doubles and also has 32 RBIs. Taylor Lewis, Sydney Davis and Emma Vis are all hitting above .314 as well for Hillsdale, and each also with 25 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 52-for-59 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 breaking the Chargers' 34-year-old single-season stolen base record with 32 on the season. As a team, the Chargers have 97 stolen bases, nine off the program's all-time single season record of 106 set in 1989.

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 19-2 record and a 0.60 ERA that leads all pitchers in NCAA DII. Russell also has a G-MAC-leading 188 strikeouts with a new school record 10 shutouts and six 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 1.48 ERA in conference games into the tournament.

Hillsdale has never missed a G-MAC Tournament in seven seasons in the conference and won tourney titles in 2018, 2019 and 2023, with the core of this year's team playing a major role in that 2023 title run. Trevecca Nazarene, no longer a member of the G-MAC, has the most tournament titles all-time with four, while Ohio Dominican has two and is looking to match Hillsdale. 2024 champion Northwood is the only other program in the field with a G-MAC Tourney title, as Tiffin, Malone, Cedarville, Findlay, and Ashland are all looking for their first this season.