May 20, 2007

Box Score

Akron, Ohio - Grand Valley State advanced to its fifth straight NCAA DII North Central Regional Championship game Saturday night with an 11-3 victory over Drury University in an elimination game. GVSU (45-8) will now play Southern Indiana for the regional crown on Sunday at 12 noon. Should GVSU win game one the North Central Regional title would be decided with an if necessary game at 4 p.m. Drury ends the 2007 season, its first season playing baseball in the last 33 years, with a 33-24 mark.

Grand Valley State scored seven runs in the top of the third inning with two outs to take a 7-0 lead. An error by the second baseman allowed the Lakers to keep the inning alive. Following the error, Lee VanStreain singled to right to plate Brad Raj who had singled to open the inning. RF Derek Hinke singled in Skirka, who reached on an error. Nick Smith walked and Pat Radde singled to center to plate two runs. Casey Robrahn tripled to right for two RBIs and Corey Maguire singled to score Robrahn. Matt Nickels walked and stole second and scored on a VanStreain single in the fourth.

Drury put up a pair of runs in the fifth. Michael York singled and Joe Rolfing walked. Tony Lewis then doubled to deep center for a pair of RBIs.

Matt Nickels slapped a bunt past the pitcher to short and beat it out. Nickels advanced to second on a putout and scored on a single to right by VanStreain to up the Laker lead to 9-2. Drury scored a single run in the eighth, but GVSU iced the game with two runs on three hits in the top of the ninth.

Eric Snyder picked up the win, improving his season mark to 5-0. Snyder yielded two runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Vince Rizzi tossed four innings of four-hit ball, yielding one run. Matt Middleton pitched a scoreless ninth. Blake Wixson took the loss, yielding seven runs, none earned, on six hits. Blair Ellington lasted 4.1 innings and gave up just one run.

Lee VanStreain was 4-5 with three RBIs. VanStreain broke the GVSU single-season hits record during his 4-hit night. Lee now has 83 hits, breaking the previous record of 82 held by Brandon McFarland in 2004. Pat Radde collected three hits and drove in a pair, while Derek Hinke, Corey Maguire and Matt Nickels each tallied two hits. Nickels, and Casey Robrahn tallied two RBIs. Drury's Tony Lewis was 3-5 with two RBIs, while Joe Rohlfing and Dane Hughes notched two hits apiece.