May 17, 2007

Box Score

Akron, Ohio - In dramatic fashion, the sixth-ranked Grand Valley State baseball scored four runs in the bottom of the 10th to claim a 5-4 victory over Drury University in first round action of the NCAA DII North Central Regional Tournament in Akron, Ohio. Grand Valley State advances to the 4:00 p.m. game Friday to play the loser of the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville-Saginaw Valley State game, while the the Panthers will play at 1:00 p.m. versus the loser of the Ashland-Southern Indiana game.

The game was a pitchers dual for the first nine innings as both teams plated one run. However, the 10th was wild and crazy. GVSU's Pat Radde singled with one out, followed by a Lee VanStreain single. Spud McKenzie drew a walk to load the bases with one out. RF Derek Hinke reached on an error by the shortstop, scoring Radde. DH Casey Robrahn droved in a run and advanced the runners to second and third with a groundout to first. C Nick Smith came to the plate with two outs and the Lakers trailing 4-3. Smith singled to second and an errant throw eluded the first baseman scoring McKenzie and Hinke for the win.

Drury started the 10th with a leadoff single by C Tyler Wright. Wright was bunted over to second and went to third on an infield single. The bases were loaded when Jason Hall was hit by a pitch. Joe Rohlfing reached on a fielders choice, however, a pair of throwing errors allowed three runs to score and give the Panthers a 4-1 lead.

Grand Valley State struck for a run in the bottom of the second when RF Derek Hinke, C Nick Smith and SS Dan Skirka strung together three straight singles. 1B Cory Maguire hit a soft grounder back to the pitcher and he forced Hinke at home, but the catcher hit Maquire in the middle of the back on his throw, allowing Smith to score.

Drury started the 10th with a leadoff single by C Tyler Wright. Wright was bunted over to second and went to third on an infield single. The bases were loaded when Jason Hall was hit by a pitch. Joe Rohlfing reached on a fielders choice, however, a pair of throwing errors allowed three runs to score and give the Panthers a 4-1 lead.

Drury got the leadoff batter on in the top of the eighth as Beach walked his first batter of the day. Following a failed attempt on a third strike bunt for the first out, DH Michael York blooped a single down the third base line. A sac bunt by SS Joe Rohlfing advanced the runners to second and third. 1B Tony Lewis struck out, but reached base on a wild pitch, allowing C Tyler Wright to score and tie the game.

David Bowman picked up the win, yielding three runs, one earned, on two hits in two innings of work. Junior RHP Nick Beach was not involved in the decision, however, he pitched a strong eight innings, yielding just four hits and one run with 12 strikeouts.

Justin Skinner was tagged with the loss, giving up one hit and one run in a third of an inning. Sam Pirtle opened the 10th on the hill for the Panthers and retired one batter while yielding three runs on two hits.

CF Pat Radde was 3-5 with a run scored, while Lee VanStreain, Derek Hinke, Nick Smith and Dan Skirka each collected a pair of hits. Hinke, Robrahn and Smith each drove in a run.

Drury 3B Tyler Goss was 2-4 and C Tyler Wright was 1-3 with two runs scored. Drury scored four runs on six hits with three errors, while GVSU scored five runs on 12 hits with two errors. Grand Valley State improves to 43-7, while Drury falls to 31-23.