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Hillsdale College

2025 Softball Roster

2 Joni Russell

  • Year Senior
  • Bats/Throws R/R
  • Height 5-8
  • Hometown Cable, OH
  • High School Triad

Biography

2024: Cemented her place in the record books of both Hillsdale and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with another banner season...broke Hillsdale's career strikeouts record in a 5-0 win over Quincy on March 3, striking out 10 batters to pass the previous mark of 474, and then on April 14 surpassed the G-MAC career strikeouts record of 616 with a 15-strikeout effort in a 6-0 shutout victory over Ohio Dominican...earned first-team All-G-MAC honors for the third season in a row and was a consensus All-Region pitcher from both the NFCA and the D2CCA for the second season in a row...led the G-MAC and Hillsdale in strikeouts for 2024 with 231, posting a 17-6 overall record with five shutouts and a 1.49 ERA...13 starts with 10 or more strikeouts on the season...named the Wilson/NFCA NCAA DII Pitcher of the Week for the week of Feb. 26, and also was named G-MAC Pitcher of the Week twice...strong student who also made the CSC Academic All-District team...along with the career strikeouts record, enters her final season at Hillsdale ranking 3rd in career wins (50), 3rd in innings pitched (475.2), and tied for second in career shutouts (17).

2023: Had a record-setting season that saw her become the first Chargers pitcher to earn national accolades at the NCAA DII level...a consensus All-American, earning second-team honors from the D2CCA and third-team honors from the NFCA, as well as G-MAC Pitcher of the Year and unanimous first-team All-Region honors...broke Hillsdale's single season strikeouts record with 268 on the season, the fifth most by any player at the NCAA DII level in 2023, and her 0.76 season ERA was the second best in program history and the fourth-best in the nation in 2023...set a school record and G-MAC record for single-game strikeouts with 19 in a 4-0 shutout win over Malone on April 8, one of eight shutouts on the year, the second-most ever in a single season by a Chargers pitcher...a major part of Hillsdale's G-MAC record-setting 1.71 staff ERA for the 2023 season...went 3-1 with one save in the 2023 G-MAC Tournament on the mound to help lead Hillsdale to the title and a NCAA Tournament berth...currently ranked in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in career strikeouts (2nd), career shutouts (4th) and career wins (7th) with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

2022: Day one starter became one of the top pitchers in the G-MAC in her first season, earning first-team All-G-MAC honors and posting a 14-9 record with a 2.23 ERA...posted 160 strikeouts, the second-most in the G-MAC and the fifth-most in a single season by a Hillsdale pitcher in program history, and her 1.86 ERA in conference games was the third-best in the league...twice named G-MAC Pitcher of the Week, once for March 14-21 after going 2-1 with a save in four appearances during Hillsdale's Florida trip, and again on April 25-May 2 after pitching 10.2 innings in a doubleheader sweep of Findlay that clinched Hillsdale's first G-MAC title since 1991...pitched four shutouts, including going all seven innings in a critical 1-0 win over Trevecca Nazarene (Apr. 15)...put up double-digit strikeouts in two appearances including a season-high 11 in a 5-0 road win over Walsh (Apr. 10)...returns as the team's ace in 2023 and should give the Chargers one of the best pitching staffs in the G-MAC.

High School: Strong pitching prospect from Triad High (OH), who led the Cardinals to the OHSAA Division 4 district finals her sophomore year (2019)...two-time All-State honoree, earning second-team All-State as a sophomore and honorable mention as a senior, while being named first-team All-Conference both years...struck out 235 batters and posted a 2.37 ERA as a senior, with a 0.99 WHIP...also played golf for the Cardinals, earning honorable mention All-Conference as a senior...played travel softball with Cincy Doom Gold...was the Valedictorian of her graduating class and a member of the National Honor Society...played in the Triad High marching band and also earned the Community STAR Award for her volunteer work...parents are John and Pamela Russell.

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 2

    2022Freshman

    P
    5'8"
    2
  • 2

    2023Sophomore

    P
    5'8"
    2
  • 2

    2024Junior

    P
    5'8"
    2
  • 2

    2025Senior

    P
    5'8"
    2