Grand Valley State moved its winning streak into double digits with a similar theme: outstanding pitching and consistent - if not timely - hitting, as the Lakers swept visiting Aquinas in a non-conference twinbill on Tuesday (Apr. 18) in Allendale. GVSU pitchers Allison Lipovsky and Allie Grys allowed just five hits on the day en route to 2-0 and 8-0 victories over the Saints.

The wins were the 10th and 11th in a row for Grand Valley State, with the Lakers improving to 23-15 on the season. Each of the last two seasons in which GVSU has had a double-digit winning streak (2016, 2013), the Lakers have advanced to the College World Series. Including double-digit win streaks in 2012 and 2011, Grand Valley State has won at least 10 games in a row in five of the last seven seasons.

Aquinas has been terrific at the NAIA level this season. The losses on Tuesday put the Saints at 31-6-1 overall.

Once again, GVSU's pitching was the story, as Lipovsky and Grys notched back-to-back shutouts. During the 11-game winning streak, the Laker hurlers have allowed just 10 total runs and combined to toss seven shutouts.

Game One (W, 2-0)

The opening game on Tuesday was a classic pitcher's duel between Lipovsky and Aquinas starter Marisa Loya. Not only was the game scoreless after four innings, neither team even advanced a runner to second base in its first four at-bats. Coming off a career-high 15-strikeout performance, Lipovsky fanned two of the three batters she faced in a 1-2-3 first inning.

Loya, however, matched Lipovsky pitch by pitch. After four innings of play, both teams had just two hits. Loya was lifted for reliever Mandy Rosol prior to the fifth inning, while Lipovsky stayed in the circle for the Lakers.

Senior Jenna Lenza tagged a one-out single in the fifth inning and moved to second base on a groundout, marking the first player for either team to reach scoring position. She would be stranded, however, on an inning-ending groundout.

The Lakers finally broke through in the sixth inning. Senior Janae Langs was hit by a pitch and junior Teagan Shomin beat out an infield single to start the frame. Both players moved up a base on a perfect sacrifice bunt from sophomore Shannon Flaherty. Aquinas decided to intentionally walk freshman clean-up hitter Kelcie LaTour to load the bases with one out.

Senior Kelsey Dominguez made the decision hurt, as she laced a double just inside of the third base bag and down the left field line to bring in both Langs and Shomin for a 2-0 Laker lead. An inning-ending double play could have gave Lipovsky more insurance in the circle, but she would not need it.

Lipovsky (10-3) - the back-to-back-to-back GLIAC Pitcher of the Week - struck out the side in the seventh inning to complete her two-hit shutout. She did not walk a batter and struck out 10 Saints on 93 pitches. This is her seventh game with double-digit strikeouts this season and her fourth consecutive effort. In her last six outings, she has tallied 10, seven, 11, 13, 15, and 10 K's.

Shomin went 2-for-3, while Dominguez (two RBI) had the game's only extra base hit on her game-winning double. Aquinas' Brooke Senkbeil had both of the Saints' base hits, but the Saints would not get a runner into scoring position at any point against Lipovsky.

Game Two (W, 8-0)

GVSU struck early in game two with a pair of runs in the first inning. Shomin singled down the right field line with one out and Lenza walked. LaTour's run-scoring single brought in a sliding Shomin, while Balbach came up two batters later and singled up the middle to score a sliding Lenza.

Grys allowed only a one-out double in the first inning and a two-out double in the third frame. The Lakers doubled their 2-0 lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the third. Lenza led off with a double and moved to third on LaTour's single. It was Lenza's 20th double of the season, which is just two shy of Katie Martin's school-record and GLIAC-record 22 two-baggers in 2013.

Lenza ended up scoring on a fielder's choice off the bat of Flaherty, while Jessica Ramos made it 4-0 on a sacrifice fly to bring in Flaherty.

Ahead 4-0, Grys went 1-2-3 in the fourth inning and allowed a harmless two-out single in the top of the fifth inning. GVSU would end the game in the home half of the fifth. Flaherty tagged a leadoff single and moved all the way to third on an Aquinas throwing error, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Two batters later, Ramos drove in a run with a single to left field, making the score 5-0.

Freshman Kayla Plastiak - who entered the game as a pinch hitter two innings earlier - then drilled the first pitch she saw over the left center field wall for a three-run roundtripper, signaling a mercy rule victory. It was the second home run of the season for the rookie Plastiak.

Grys moved to 5-1 with the victory, as she allowed three hits. She did not walk a batter and struck out one, but recorded eight flyouts and six groundouts in her 69-pitch effort. 

Nine Lakers recorded base hits in the game, led by two-hit efforts from Shomin, LaTour, and Balbach. Plastiak tallied three RBI with her big fly and Ramos added a pair of ribbies. Lenza and Flaherty both scored twice. GVSU outhit Aquinas in game two, 12-3.

Grand Valley State looks to continue its winning streak on Saturday, when it hosts Lake Erie for a 1:00 p.m. start in Allendale. It will be Senior Day for the program, as the Laker seniors will be honored prior to game one against the Storm.