Grand Valley State's pitching put together arguably its best overall day of the season on Sunday (Apr. 17) at Tiffin, as two Laker hurlers managed to shut out the Dragons in both ends of the doubleheader. GVSU won each game by the same 2-0 final, as the Lakers allowed just nine base hits in 14 innings of the twinbill.
 
Senior righthander Sara Andrasik and junior lefty Ellie Balbach held the Tiffin bats quiet all day, silencing a solid Dragon offense that is fifth in the league in home runs and sixth in the GLIAC in team batting average. Andrasik scattered six hits in her complete game shutout, striking out three Dragons and walking one. Balbach allowed just three base hits, did not walk a batter, and notched six strikeouts.
 
It was the first time GVSU recorded consecutive shutouts in the same GLIAC doubleheader since Mar. 31, 2014 when Andrasik and former pitcher Lauren Gevaart blanked Lake Erie 4-0 and 11-0.
 
For the weekend - including the Lakers sweep at Ohio Dominican on Saturday - Grand Valley State pitchers gave up one run on 19 hits in 29.0 innings in the circle. Sunday's shutout was the 15th of Andrasik's career (ninth-most in GVSU history) and the first such outing for Balbach as a Laker.
 
The sweep puts GVSU at 28-8 on the season and 13-5 in GLIAC play, while Tiffin drops to 20-16 overall and 5-8 in league action.
 
In game one, Andrasik came out very strong, retiring the first five batters she faced. She also retired six consecutive batters in the third and fourth innings, keeping the scoreless battle in tact.
 
Tiffin hurler Kimmy Reynolds was matching Andrasik's performance, as she set down six straight Lakers in the fourth and fifth frames. In the bottom of the fifth, the Dragons loaded the bases on Andrasik, but did so with two outs. Andrasik buckled down and forced an infield popup to escape the threat.
 
The Lakers rewarded Andrasik in their next at-bat. Sophomore Teagan Shomin led off the sixth inning with a walk. Junior Janae Langs bunted Shomin to second base and two batters later, junior Jenna Lenza delivered the game's first run with a single down the left field line to score Shomin for the 1-0 advantage.
 
Andrasik responded with a 1-2-3 sixth inning. In the seventh, GVSU freshman Shannon Flaherty led off with a double down the left field line. Junior Kelsey Dominguez pushed Flaherty to third base with a sacrifice bunt, but on the play, the Dragon second baseman committed an error, allowing Flaherty to race in for a 2-0 Laker lead.
 
In the home half of the seventh, Andrasik worked around a one-out single to get a groundout and a flyout to end the contest. She moves to 10-2 on the year with her six-hit complete game shutout. Andrasik walked one batter, struck out three, and received 10 flyball outs. She recorded 1-2-3 innings in the first, fourth, and sixth frames.
 
Flaherty recorded two of the Lakers three hits, as she was 2-for-3 with a double, the only extra-base hit in the game. Lenza's RBI single was the only other hit for GVSU in game one. That marked the fewest hits the Lakers have recorded in a victory since Mar. 1, 2015, when GVSU also notched two runs on three hits in a 2-1 win over Mary.
 
In game two, neither team would tally a base hit until senior McKenze Supernaw notched a leadoff single in the bottom of the second inning. Tiffin would respond with back-to-back singles to lead off the top of the third inning, but Balbach would battle back to forced three consecutive outs and get out of the jam.
 
Balbach would set down the Dragons in order in the fourth inning and the Lakers would tally the game's first run in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore Kaylie Rhynard - who caught all 14 innings on Sunday - led off the fourth with an infield single, then promptly stole second base. She moved to third base on an error and then scored on a sacrifice bunt from Flaherty to put GVSU ahead, 1-0.
 
Just like the fourth inning, Balbach went 1-2-3 in the fifth frame, with the Lakers again scoring in the bottom of the stanza. Shomin - who tallied a one-out single - came in to score on a bases loaded walk to Lenza, pushing the advantage to 2-0.
 
Balbach worked around a one-out error in the sixth inning to induce a popup and a flyball out. Tiffin did put its leadoff runner on base in the seventh with an infield single, but Balbach ended any hope of a Dragon comeback by getting a groundball out to end the game.
 
Now 4-2 on the season, Balbach tallied six strikeouts and did not allow a walk. On Saturday at Ohio Dominican, she gave up one run and seven hits in 7.1 innings in the circle.
 
Five different Lakers collected one hit apiece; all five hits were singles. Shomin and Rhynard scored the runs, while Lenza and Flaherty picked up the only RBI in the game.
 
Grand Valley State returns home for its final four regular season doubleheaders. The Lakers begin the eight-game homestand with a twinbill against Lake Superior State on Tuesday (Apr. 19) at 3:00 p.m. in Allendale.