Grand Valley State scored five late runs against Ashland to win game two on Friday night (Apr. 3) and the offense continued to roll on Saturday (Apr. 4) against Lake Erie in Allendale. The Lakers shut out the visiting Storm in the opener, 9-0, before winning an 18-10 slugfest in game two. Both games ended via the eight-run mercy rule.

With the sweep, Grand Valley State improves its overall record to 21-7 on the season. The Lakers are 7-2 in GLIAC play. Lake Erie drops to 7-11 overall and 1-5 in conference action. For the week, GVSU went 6-2 in four GLIAC doubleheaders, including a 5-1 record at home.

In six games in Allendale over the last five days, the Lakers have outscored their opponents 39-17. The eight-game homestand continues on Tuesday, when Lake Superior State comes to town for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader.

GVSU hadn't scored that many runs in a GLIAC doubleheader since pushing 35 runs across against Lake Erie on Mar. 30, 2013 in Allendale. The Lakers won game one, 23-0, before finishing the sweep with a 12-1 victory in game two. The last time Grand Valley State scored at least 27 runs in one day was on Mar. 3, 2014, when the Lakers defeated University of the Sciences (16-3) and Chestnut Hill (11-1) in two single games down in Clermont, Fla.

On Saturday, GVSU owned a team batting average of .509. The Lakers scored 27 runs on 28 hits (five doubles, one triple, two homers), but also reached base with nine walks and four hit-by-pitches. In nine at-bats over the two games, Grand Valley State scored a run in seven innings and multiple runs in six frames.

The wind was swirling around the GVSU Softball Field on Saturday, but that did not stop junior McKenze Supernaw from tallying the first two runs of the day with a two-run blast to left center field in the bottom of the first inning. Junior Chelsea Horvath's RBI triple in the second inning made the score, 3-0.

Grand Valley State pushed the score to 6-0 in the third frame with an RBI double from sophomore Ellie Balbach and run-scoring singles from sophomore Janae Langs and Horvath. Langs added a two-run double in the fourth inning before sophomore Megan Downey's RBI single capped the scoring at 9-0.

The benefactor of the potent offense was junior Sara Andrasik. On Friday night, the righthander was the unlucky loser in the 1-0 defeat to Ashland. In Saturday's outing, she tossed a five-inning three-hitter. Andrasik improved to 7-4 on the season, while walking three batters and striking out six hitters. 

Langs finished game one with a 3-for-3 outing, a double, and three RBI. Supernaw (2-for-3, home run, two runs, two RBI), Balbach (2-for-3, double, RBI, two runs), and Horvath (2-for-2, triple, two ribbies) all had multiple hits in the opener.

Game two was a wild affair, as GVSU scored at least five runs in each of its first three at-bats. The Lakers jumped ahead 5-0 after the top of the first thanks to three bases loaded walks, a hit by pitch with the bases full, and an RBI single from Horvath.

However, Lake Erie showed some fight by responding with six runs of its own in the bottom of the first. The Storm did their damage with just three hits, as GVSU committed an uncharacteristic four errors in the frame.

Grand Valley State bounced back to score six more runs in the top of the second and take an 11-5 advantage. Balbach and freshmen AJ Castle and Kaylie Rhynard all notched RBI singles, freshman Teagan Shomin was hit by a pitch (her second of the day - this time with the bases loaded), and sophomore Kelsey Dominguez lifted a sacrifice fly for the last run of the inning.

In their next at-bat, the Lakers plated seven runs to blow the game up with an 18-6 cushion. Balbach notched an RBI single, Castle drove in a run with a double, but sophomore Jenna Lenza had the biggest swing of the day. With the bases loaded, the second baseman drove an 0-2 pitch to right center field and it cleared the fence for an opposite field grand slam. It was the fifth homer of the season for Lenza and the first grand slam of her career.

The last time GVSU hit a grand slam was on Mar. 7, 2014, when former slugger Miranda Cleary smacked a roundtripper in a 5-3 victory over Holy Family in Clermont, Fla.

Lake Erie added two runs in the third and fifth innings, but Grand Valley State was able to win its second straight game via mercy rule.

Balbach earned the victory in the circle, moving her record to 6-1 on the season. She allowed 10 runs, but just five were earned. At the plate, the lefty was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI.

Lenza (3-for-4, home run, three runs, four RBI), Supernaw (3-for-3, two doubles, three runs), and Castle (3-for-3, double, two runs, three RBI) all had three hits in the victory. Langs went 2-for-3 and scored three times, while Shomin and Rhynard drove in two runs apiece.

10 different Lakers notched a base hit and drove in a run during the doubleheader. Supernaw and Langs both went 5-for-6 on Saturday, while Lenza and Balbach collected four hits apiece. Those two - as well as Langs - picked up four RBI in the twinbill.