After winning a pair of 2-1 pitcher's duels on Sunday (Mar. 1) in Clermont, Fla., the Grand Valley State Lakers went on the offensive on Monday (Mar. 2) at the NTC Spring Games. The Lakers plated 22 runs on 23 hits in a pair of convincing victories over Cedarville and Notre Dame College.
The morning opened with the Lakers scoring eight runs in the first inning of an 11-5 win over Cedarville. GVSU pushed its win streak to six games with an 11-1 five-inning mercy rule victory against Notre Dame College in the afternoon. With four games of at least 10 runs already this season, Grand Valley State improves to 8-1 in 2015.
On Sunday, the Lakers topped Mary twice, with both games being decided by 2-1 scores. Junior
Sara Andrasik and freshman
Courtney Reinhold earned complete game victories on the team's opening day of the spring break trip. The pitching was again strong on Monday, but the offense took it up another notch.
After Andrasik struck out the opening two Cedarville batters and retired the side in order, it would be a while before she returned to the circle. The Lakers used six hits and a Cedarville error to score eight first-inning runs. GVSU scored in a number of ways in the first frame, including three bases-loaded walks (two from sophomore
Ellie Balbach) and a Teagen Shomin hit by pitch with the bases full.
Junior
McKenze Supernaw and sophomore
Kelsey Dominguez notched run-scoring singles, while freshman
Kaylie Rhynard brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and junior
Chelsea Horvath earned a walk with the bases loaded. Horvath added an RBI single in the second inning to up the Laker advantage to 9-0.
Cedarville (1-4 overall) was able to get to GVSU's
Sarah Wyse, who relieved Andrasik after three hitless innings. The Yellow Jackets cut into the Grand Valley State lead to make the score, 9-5.
Andrasik re-entered the game and retired six of the next seven batters in the fifth and sixth innings. GVSU added two more runs in the sixth, as sophomore
Megan Downey drove in Rhynard with an RBI double.
10 Lakers recorded a base hit in the opener, as Shomin (2-for-4, two runs, two RBI) and Dominguez (2-for-3, run, RBI) each tallied multiple hits. Balbach and Horvath both drove in a pair of runners, while Rhynard crossed home plate twice.
In moving to 3-1 on the season, Andrasik allowed just three hits and one walk, while striking out five batters in 6.2 innings in the circle.
The Lakers picked up where they left off against Notre Dame (0-3 overall), again scoring the first eight runs of the game. RBI doubles from Dominguez and classmate
Jenna Lenza, along with a Supernaw sacrifice fly, put GVSU ahead 3-0 in the first inning.
Dominguez increased the lead to 5-0 in the second frame with a two-run single, scoring Horvath and freshman
Heather Sperlazzo. Lenza and Balbach each tallied RBI singles, and Supernaw again drove in a run with a fielder's choice.
The 8-0 lead was plenty for Balbach, who settled in after allowing a run in the second inning. She retired the side in order in the third and allowed just a two-out single in the fourth and a two-out walk in the fifth. Supernaw added to her RBI total with two-run double in the fourth inning, scoring Balbach and Lenza.
For the game, Supernaw drove in four runs, while Dominguez (2-for-4, two runs, three RBI) and Lenza (3-for-4, three runs, two RBI) were also terrific at the plate. Again, it was a team effort, as eight Lakers notched a hit and eight players scored a run.
The victory puts Balbach at 3-0 this season. She scattered four hits and one run, while walking two and fanning two.
GVSU's defense has particularly enjoyed the warm weather, having not committed an error in four games down in Florida.
On Tuesday, Grand Valley state plays a pair of night games, taking on Assumption and Post at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively before enjoying an off-day on Wednesday.
