Grand Valley State earned a home GLIAC doubleheader sweep over Findlay in opposite ways on Saturday (Apr. 8) in Allendale. The Lakers notched a 6-0 shutout victory in the opening game and rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to take the nightcap from the Oilers, 6-4. It was GVSU's first doubleheader sweep in conference play this season.

With the victories, the Lakers even both their overall record at 15-15 and their league mark at 5-5. Findlay drops to 16-15 on the year and the Oilers fall to 6-4 in GLIAC play, having lost just twice in league action prior to Saturday's pair of losses. GVSU is back in action on Sunday (Apr. 9) at home against Tiffin, with the twinbill starting at noon.

Saturday was the team's Breast Cancer Awareness doubleheader, as both the Lakers and Findlay wore new uniforms in support of Indianapolis head coach Melissa Frost, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last November. Grand Valley State wore black jerseys with pink script and sported pink socks, while Findlay wore pink jerseys with black script.

Game One (W, 6-0)

GVSU notched a pair of runs in each the first, fourth, and fifth innings to cruise to the shutout victory. With two outs in the first inning, senior Jenna Lenza walked and was immediately doubled home by freshman Kelcie LaTour for the first run of the game. After a Shannon Flaherty single put two Lakers on, junior Jessica Ramos notched an infield single, which eventually scored LaTour after an Oiler error. 

Laker starter Allison Lipovsky worked around a hit and an error in the top of the second inning to strike out the side. Grand Valley State doubled its 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Flaherty led off with a single and moved to second base on a Ramos sacrifice bunt. Senior Ellie Balbach singled up the middle to bring Flaherty home for a 3-0 advantage. After a Kelsey Dominguez single, junior Tanner Kiessel tallied an RBI single to left field to put the home team in front, 4-0.

Lipovsky worked a 1-2-3 fifth inning and the Lakers responded with two more runs in the bottom of the inning. Junior Teagan Shomin led off with a double to right center, then Lenza followed three pitches later with a double down the left field line for the 5-0 cushion. Lenza scored the final run of the game later in the inning on a Findlay error.

The Oilers managed just one more hit in their final two at-bats, clinching the fourth shutout of the year for Lipovsky, who improves to 6-3. The righthander allowed four hits and three walks, while striking out seven batters on 115 pitches. 

GVSU outhit the Oilers 10-4, with eight different players recording a hit. Flaherty and Shomin both collected two hits apiece; Shomin, Lenza, and LaTour all had doubles, the only extra base hits of the opener.

Game Two (W, 6-4)

After not scoring in the opener, Findlay quickly jumped to a 3-0 lead in game two with a three-run homer from Destinie Keeton in the bottom of the first inning. UF starter Hailey Bryan stifled the Lakers over the first four innings, allowing only a Ramos two-out double in the second frame and a leadoff bunt single from Shomin in the fourth.

The 3-0 Oiler lead could've been worse for GVSU, as Findlay put runners on the corners with two outs in the third inning. Junior Courtney Reinhold relieved Balbach in the circle and was stuck in a tough 10-pitch battle with the Oilers' Keeton, who homered in her first at-bat. She hit a line shot down the right field line, but Kiessel sprinted towards the line and made a diving catch before the ball hit the ground, saving at least one run and potentially a pair.

That play seemed to swing the momentum in the Lakers' favor. Two innings later, Ramos - celebrating her birthday on Saturday - drilled a leadoff home run to center field for GVSU's first run of the game. The solo blast is the first in the Laker career for Ramos, a first-year transfer. 

Reinhold worked around trouble in the fifth inning, using an out at home plate and a groundout to escape the jam and keep the score at 3-1. The Lakers provided her with three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 4-3 cushion. Shomin led off with a single to right field. Lenza followed with a slow grounder to third base and the Oiler third baseman tried to make the throw to second base. As Shomin was sliding into the bag, the throw was wide of its target and sailed into the outfield, allowing Shomin to come all the way around and score, while Lenza moved to second base in a one-run game.

On the next pitch, LaTour ripped a single back up the middle and tied the game, as Lenza slid into home plate barely ahead of the throw. Later in the inning, with Flaherty (single) on third base, freshman Jenna Czart ripped a single down the right field line to bring in Flaherty for the go-ahead run. The RBI base hit for Czart was the first hit of her Laker career and could not have come at a more opportune time.

Findlay, however, tied the game in the bottom of the frame on a Laker error with two outs, sending the game to the seventh inning with a 4-4 deadlock.

With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Lenza worked a five-pitch walk before LaTour singled up the middle. On the very next pitch, Flaherty delivered an RBI single back up the middle to center field, scoring Lenza with the go-ahead run. GVSU added an insurance run as Ramos ripped a single off the glove of the Oilers' third baseman, bringing in LaTour for the 6-4 edge.

Reinhold sealed the deal in the bottom of the seventh, throwing just nine pitches to set the Oilers down in order and complete the sweep. Now 3-4 on the season, Reinhold allowed one unearned run on four hits in 4.1 innings in the circle. She walked two and struck out two. After giving up the first inning homer, Balbach settled down and gave up three runs on five hits in 2.2 innings, to go with three strikeouts.

Ramos celebrated her birthday in style, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, and a pair of RBI in game two. Shomin, LaTour, and Flaherty all recorded two hits in the nightcap, while Lenza scored twice despite going 0-for-3. 

It was the third doubleheader sweep for GVSU this season, but just the first in conference play. The Lakers also swept Purdue-Northwest on the road on Mar. 19 and defeated Lewis in a twinbill at home on Mar. 28. Grand Valley State is now 4-0 at home this season and 9-5 since returning to West Michigan from the annual Spring Break trip.