Miscues Cost Softball In Doubleheader Sweep Versus Hillsdale

OVERVIEW – Hillsdale

SCORES: Hillsdale 11, Northwood 10 (9 Inn.) / Hillsdale 11, Northwood 2 (6 Inn.)

RECORDS: Northwood (8-12, 2-2 G-MAC), Hillsdale (16-11, 4-0 G-MAC)

LOCATION: Fisher Stadium – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood softball battled in a back-and-forth opener but ultimately fell in both games of a conference doubleheader against Hillsdale on Wednesday afternoon (March 25) at Fisher Stadium. The Timberwolves rallied from multiple deficits in game one before dropping an 11-10 decision in nine innings, while Hillsdale used early offense to take game two, 11-2.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Hillsdale opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run to take an early 1-0 lead.
• The Chargers extended the lead in the third with a two-run double and a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
• Northwood answered in the bottom half of the inning as Delanie Gale hit a two-run home run to center field, scoring Brinley Eckerman to cut the deficit to 4-2. This was Gale's second homer of the season.
• Hillsdale responded with four runs in the fourth inning, using an RBI double, an RBI single, and a two-run home run to push the lead to 8-2.
• Northwood got a run back in the fourth when Meridith Frey reached on a booted ball by the second basemen, allowing Gage Lambert to score from third, 8-3 HC.
• After Hillsdale added a run in the sixth, Northwood mounted a three-run inning as Eckerman delivered a two-run double and Ashley Ziel followed with an RBI single to make it 9-6 after six.
• The Timberwolves tied the game in the seventh. Lambert drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before three straight two-out hits by Frey, Eckerman, and Gale helped even the score at 9-9 going into extras.
• Hillsdale regained the lead in the ninth with two runs on RBI singles. Northwood answered with a run on a fielder's choice by Gale, but the tying run was left on base in an 11-10 final.
• Delaney Belding threw 5.2 innings of solid relief, allowing just five hits and four earned runs while striking out three Hillsdale batters.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 10/15/4, Hillsdale 11/11/3
• Runners left on base: Northwood 12, Hillsdale 10
• Winning Pitcher – Anistyn Foster (2-1) – 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER
• Losing Pitcher – Delaney Belding (1-3) – 5.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Brinley Eckerman: 4-6, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B
• Delanie Gale: 2-4, R, HR (2), 4 RBI, 2 BB
• Ashley Ziel: 2-5, RBI, BB
• Gage Lambert: 3-4, R, RBI
• Chloe Cooper: 2-4, 2 R, BB
• Meridith Frey: 1-4, 2 R, RBI

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Hillsdale struck quickly in the first inning, scoring on a steal of home before adding a two-run home run to take a 3-0 lead.
• The Chargers extended the lead in the third with a two-run home run and a solo home run to make it 6-0.
• Hillsdale added three more runs in the fourth, taking advantage of defensive miscues, including another steal of home, an RBI single, and a run-scoring groundout to push the lead to 9-0.
• Northwood got on the board in the fifth as Delanie Gale hit her second home run of the day with a two-run home run to left field, scoring Brinley Eckerman to cut the deficit to 9-2 and extend the game.
• Hillsdale closed the scoring in the sixth with their fourth home run of the game to secure the 11-2 victory.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 2/7/5, Hillsdale 11/10/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 6, Hillsdale 6
• Winning Pitcher – Mackenzi Maxson (4-3) – 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER
• Losing Pitcher – Dalaney Gage (2-4) – 2.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Brinley Eckerman: 2-3, R
• Delanie Gale: 1-3, R, HR, 2 RBI

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Several Timberwolves continue climbing the Northwood softball record books during the 2026 season. Delanie Gale moved into a tie for fifth all-time in program history in home runs with 18 after her two-homer day against Hillsdale. Gale now sits even with current teammate, Ashley Ziel, and Julia Gross (2017–21) on the program leaderboard.
• Ziel also reached a career milestone in the first game against Hillsdale, collecting her 200th career hit. The achievement moves her into fourth place on Northwood's all-time hits list, making her just the fourth athlete to reach the 200-hit mark. She joins Northwood Athletics Hall of Famers Tanya Hospelhorn (1993–96, 238), Stacey Klonowski (2011–14, 214), and Tara Tigner (1997–00, 210).

UP NEXT

• Northwood continues conference play with its next G-MAC series this weekend against Ursuline and Cedarville. Keep up-to-date on late game information and schedule updates at gonorthwood.com