INDIANAPOLIS – The final Great Midwest Athletic Conference Softball Players of the Week pairing was announced on Tuesday as the league championship wrapped up in Xenia, Ohio, over the weekend.
 
The fourth-seeded Chargers tore through the tournament field going 4-0 after defeating Trevecca, Cedarville, and Kentucky Wesleyan twice completing the tournament outscoring opponents 17-1.
 
Now with the No. 8 seed in the national tourney, Hillsdale advanced with an at-large selection to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional 1 pod where it will play No. 1 and region host Grand Valley State.
 
The Chargers and Lakers will meet on Thursday at noon ET with the game televised on ESPN3.
 
Player of the Week
Katie Kish
Hillsdale
Junior
Outfield
Grosse Point Park, MI (South HS)
 
Forget Ted Williams’ coveted .400 mark.
 
There are a few hitters, including Kish, flirting with a ridiculous .500 season batting line – a mind-boggling feat when you think that every other at-bat results in a base hit.
 
Kish was the catalyst for the Chargers’ offense in their undefeated playoff run while manning the leadoff spot and earning first-team all-conference honors as a junior.
 
Kish went a combined 7-for-14 in those four games for a .500 batting average with a double, two runs batted in and three runs scored. She entered the tournament with a batting average over .490.
 
What’s even more difficult to comprehend is she had a two-run double against Trevecca completely wiped off the board as she was determined to have stepped out of the batter’s box.
 
She went 2-for-2 in her first game against Trevecca and she continued to dominate compiling multiple hits in all but one game when she was 1-for-4 in a 1-0 win against top seed Cedarville.
 
She then went a combined 4-for-8 in her final two games against conference defending champ No. 8 Kentucky Wesleyan to defeat the Panthers and take the Great Midwest Championship crown.
 
This just continued a great season for the junior as she now ranks second in batting average in the conference with a .492 mark. She also ranks third in on base percentage as well as fifth in hits going into the Midwest Regional.
 
Pitcher of the Week
Erin Hunt
Hillsdale
Freshman
RHP
Dansville, MI (Dansville HS)
 
Hunt painted a masterpiece in every game started in the circle as the Chargers finished 4-0 in the Great Midwest Championship bracket as the No. 4 seed in the eight-team tourney.
 
The freshman delivered in her moment to shine, going 4-0 with just one run given up in her 27 innings on the mound for the Chargers. She fanned 34 and was only touched for 10 hits.
 
The first team all-conference selection was the league leader in strikeouts, earned run average, and opposing batting average. She was a serious contender and in the conversation for both pitcher and freshman of the year honors as a rookie.
 
Hunt tossed a three-hit shutout in a dominant showing against the Trojans, an 8-0 final that finished in six innings. She struck out 12 hitters against a lineup that featured eight all-conference players.
 
She then moved on to handcuff top seed Cedarville. She gave up only two hits in that contest again without walking anyone or giving up a run while racking up 10 strikeouts in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel against the Yellow Jackets’ Moragan Arbogast.
 
In her first game against Kentucky Wesleyan she allowed only three hits and still blanked the Panthers, giving up her first two walks of the tournament while still striking out eight.
 
She finished off the Panthers in the championship series, again going the distance in the circle and allowing her first run of the tournament while giving up 10 hits but striking out four Panthers.