A season that started in Hawai'i ended in a special finish for the Hillsdale College softball team in 2025.

After a strong regular season that included a runner-up finish in a tough Great Midwest Athletic Conference race, Hillsdale went on a tear in the final two weeks of the season. The Chargers rampaged through the G-MAC Tournament to bring home the program's fourth G-MAC Tourney crown, winning three straight games and taking an 11-4 lead in the fifth inning of the championship game before weather ended the tournament prematurely.

Hillsdale rode that momentum into the NCAA Midwest Regional round at Tiffin, bouncing back from a tough opening game loss to Lewis in 13 innings to eliminate both the host Dragons and later, the Flyers in a rematch of that extra-inning thriller. Facing off against UIndy for the regional title, the Chargers battled the Greyhounds close for 14 innings, resetting the bracket with a 2-0 victory before coming up just short of the regional crown in a 3-2 walk-off loss in the if-necessary game.

The defeat ended what was Hillsdale's deepest ever NCAA Tourney run, with three wins and a spot in the regional final game for the first time in program history. The Chargers finished the 2025 season with 39 wins, its most since 1991 and just one win away from tying the school record for wins in a season. 

The Chargers' impressive team showing was aided by historic performances from a cast of impressive individual players. Senior ace Joni Russell capped a record-setting career with a 23-4 record and a 0.60 regular season ERA that led the entirety of NCAA DII, becoming the first player in Hillsdale College history to earn unanimous first team All-American honors. Russell graduated holding Hillsdale career records for wins (73), strikeouts (899) shutouts (28) and innings pitched (662), and also set the G-MAC records for career strikeouts, shutouts, ERA (1.26), batting average against (.192) and Ks per seven innings (9.52).

Russell was one of many award winners for the Chargers. Senior Ashley Strick became Hillsdale's first ever Rawlings Gold Glove recipient as the top defensive right fielder in all of NCAA DII, while junior Taylor Lewis earned first-team All-Region honors after a stellar season at second base. Senior first baseman Emma Vis earned second-team All-G-MAC honors, while fellow senior Hannah Hoverman was the G-MAC Tournament MVP as both players finished in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in career home runs.

Also earning second-team All-G-MAC honors for the Chargers were junior Maggie Olaveson, who continued to be one of the team's top power hitters and set a new single-season record for walks drawn with 30, and freshman Olivia Liguori, who was an early starter and one of the top first-season players in the G-MAC in 2025. Along with the award-winners, junior Emma Sather also had a phenomenal season in the outfield for the Chargers, setting a new single-season school record with 34 stolen bases, and Sydney Davis and Anna Chellman also played well for Hillsdale with several clutch hits in the stretch run.

Hillsdale's special season was driven by the leadership and excellence of its four player senior class of Russell, Strick, Hoverman and Vis, who left a historic mark on the program and who will be sorely missed. But despite the losses, Hillsdale has a great deal of talent returning, headlined by a deep rising senior class that includes Lewis, Olaveson, Sather, Chellman and veteran pitcher Mackenzi Maxson. That group will aim to ensure the Chargers remain among the top teams in the G-MAC and the Midwest Region for another season in 2026.