The Grand Valley State softball team swept Lake Superior State in Allendale on Tuesday afternoon (Apr. 7), capping the team's third home sweep in the last eight days. GVSU was victorious, 15-4 and 6-3, but it was the game one performance of junior McKenze Supernaw that was the story of the day.

Trailing 4-3 heading into the fifth inning of the opener, GVSU - the visiting team in game one, as the doubleheader was originally scheduled for Sault Ste. Marie - pushed 12 runs across in the next two innings to get the mercy rule victory. Grand Valley State scored in four of its six at-bats of game two to earn the 6-3 win.

With the sweep, GVSU improves to 23-7 overall and 9-2 in GLIAC play. The Lakers are 7-1 at home in the last week and outscored their opponents 60-24 during that eight-game stretch. Lake Superior State drops to 10-15 on the season and 3-8 in league action.

Supernaw's game one performance was tremendous. The third baseman finished the game by going 5-for-5 with a double, two home runs, and seven RBI. She was just a triple shy of the cycle, while the junior recorded at least one RBI in all five at-bats. 

In the first inning, she doubled down the left field line to drive in a run. Supernaw then notched an RBI single in the third inning. She smacked a solo homer just inside the left field foul pole in the fifth frame before delivering another RBI single later in the same inning. Finally, in the sixth inning, Supernaw homered again to left field; a three-run blast that capped the scoring for the Lakers.

Game-by-game records for Grand Valley State go back to the start of the 2000 season. Since then, there have been only two other players - along with Supernaw - that have recorded five hits in a game. Both Tara Marsh (Mar. 4, 2005 against Eckerd in the season opener) and Jackie Teutsch (Apr. 2, 2011 at home against Northwood) went 5-for-5. Marsh and Teutsch both batted leadoff in those games and tallied five singles apiece.

In addition to joining the rare five-hit club, Supernaw's seven RBI are a school record, at least dating back to the 2000 season. Seven times in the last five seasons, a Laker batter has driven in six runs, but never reached Supernaw's seven ribbies. 

With two singles, a double, and two homers, Supernaw recorded 12 total bases, also the most by any Laker since at least 2000. Former teammate Katie Martin totaled 11 bases in a 2013 game against Lake Erie, while four players secured 10 total bases in a game.

35 times since 2000 has a GVSU player hit two home runs in the same game, as Supernaw is the second Laker (along with sophomore Jenna Lenza) to achieve that feat this season.

Supernaw's first hit (the RBI double in the first inning) came after Lenza's run-scoring single. The Lakers led 2-0, but Lake Superior State managed to take a 3-2 lead despite just one hit and with the help of two GVSU errors.

Grand Valley State tied the score in the third on Supernaw's RBI single. However, LSSU quickly responded with an RBI single of its own to regain the 4-3 advantage. 

Neither team scored again until GVSU plated seven runs in the top of the fifth. The solo homer from Supernaw that snuck just inside the left field foul pole started things off and tied the game at 4-4. Sophomore catcher Marianne Deppe's two-run single up the middle gave GVSU the 6-4 lead, but the Lakers were far from done. Lenza walked with the bases loaded to make it 7-4 and bring Supernaw back to the plate.

She recorded her second hit and second RBI of the fifth inning with a single back up the middle to make the score 8-4. Sophomore Ellie Balbach added a two-run single to cap off the seven-run fifth inning.

GVSU added five more in the sixth inning on a two-run single from sophomore Kelsey Dominguez and, finally, Supernaw's three-run blast to left field that entered her name into the Laker record books.

Balbach entered in relief of junior Sara Andrasik (three innings, three hits, four runs, one earned) in the fourth inning. The lefty allowed only one hit and one walk in three innings of work to push her record to 7-1 on the season. 

In addition to Supernaw's effort, Dominguez went 3-for-3 with a double, a triple, two RBI, and four runs scored. Dominguez becomes one of just seven Grand Valley State players to have scored four runs in a game since the 2000 season.

Lenza was 2-for-3 with a double, two ribbies, and three runs scored, while Balbach went 2-for-3 with two RBI at the plate. Deppe also drove in a pair of runs.

Grand Valley State took a 1-0 lead in the home half of the second inning in game two when freshman Heather Sperlazzo singled up the middle to bring in classmate Kaylie Rhynard. The score was still 1-0 in the fourth when Sperlazzo again singled, but this time freshman Teagan Shomin raced around to score. Junior Chelsea Horvath - the very next batter - scored Rhynard with an RBI single, making the GVSU lead, 3-0.

Lake Superior State scored a run off of GVSU starter Courtney Reinhold in the fifth inning, but Grand Valley State responded with two of its own in the bottom half of the frame. Freshman AJ Castle double to deep right field, which brought in Dominguez. Later in the inning, Sperlazzo picked up another RBI on a bases loaded walk.

In the sixth, LSSU cut the deficit to 5-3 on a two-run single from Amanda Maxon, the GLIAC leader in batting average. However, Dominguez recouped one of those runs with an RBI double in the home half of the sixth, bringing in sophomore Janae Langs.

Reinhold worked around a two-out infield single in the seventh to preserve the victory. The righty is now 9-2 on the season. She allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits in the complete game win. Reinhold walked five batters, but struck out six.

Dominguez went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a run, and an RBI. Sperlazzo was 2-for-2 with three RBI and made nine putouts at first base. Rhynard and Shomin were each 2-for-3, as Rhynard stole bases and scored twice. Shomin added a double and scored a run.

GVSU's originally scheduled doubleheader at Northwood on Wednesday (Apr. 8) has been pushed back to next Thursday (Apr. 16) at 3:30 p.m. The Lakers will continue their current homestand (now up to 14 straight home games) on Saturday when they face Ohio Dominican at 1:00 p.m.