Hillsdale Chargers announces Chargers' Joni Russell named G-MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week for fourth time (April 24-May 1)
From May 01, 2023 post.
For the fourth time this season, Joni Russell is being recognized as the most impressive pitcher in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, the league office announced on Monday.
Like many of her past honors, this one was a no-doubter after a record-setting week that included a dominant win over the G-MAC regular season champions on Wednesday.
Russell defanged one of the best offenses in the G-MAC in a 2-1 victory over Ohio Dominican, striking out 12 batters and giving up just two hits and one earned run in a complete game effort.
In the process, Russell set a new program record for strikeouts in a single season, blowing past the previous high total of 216 set by Danielle Stiene in 2015. Russell now sits at 224 for the year, the third most by any pitcher in the history of the G-MAC, and with the upcoming G-MAC Tournament looming to add to her total.
The sophomore opened the week on Monday by pitching a shutout against Lake Erie, striking out 11 with just one walk in another two-hit effort.
Russell has been sensational this season in helping the Chargers to a runner-up finish in the G-MAC and the second seed in this week's G-MAC Tournament.
Along with her record-setting strikeout total, Russell also leads the G-MAC in ERA (0.71) and batting average against (.169), and has conceded just four earned runs in 11 conference starts,with a 9-1 record in G-MAC play. Her ERA is tied for fifth in the nation at the NCAA DII level so far, and her 224 strikeouts rank sixth among all pitchers at the NCAA DII level.
Not even through her sophomore season with the Chargers, Russell is rapidly moving up the list of all-time greats at Hillsdale College. On top of setting the strikeout record, her 0.71 ERA, if maintained, would be the second-lowest by a Chargers pitcher in a single season in program history, behind only Doreen Wiedemann's 0.49 in 1991. In terms of career numbers, in not even two seasons Russell already has climbed into third in all-time in career strikeouts, with 384, well within striking distance of DeAngelo's school record of 474 set from 1998-2001. Her 20 wins also rank ninth all-time at Hillsdale, and her 10 shutouts are tied for fourth. Russell also set a new single-game mark for strikeouts with 19 against Malone on April 8.
Russell now hopes to help pitch the Chargers to a third G-MAC Tournament title in six seasons in the G-MAC, and with it, an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Hillsdale begins its postseason run on Wednesday, May 3 with a 2:30 p.m. game against seventh-seeded Ashland at the Marathon Diamonds in Findlay, Ohio.
Original source can be found here.