March 15, 2009

Box Score

Urbana, Ohio - Behind a pair of strong pitching performances and timely hitting from senior shortstop Nichole Woityra, GVSU won both games on Sunday afternoon (Mar. 15) at the Urbana Blue Knight Invitational. Grand Valley State defeated Lake Superior State, 2-0, in the opener and won in dramatic fashion over Urbana in the nightcap, 3-2.

Including its 4-0 win on Saturday over Lake Erie, GVSU was crowned champions of the tournament with a 3-0 record. The wins put the Lakers record at 12-5 on the year and they have now won six games in a row, including their final three contests in Clermont, Fla. at the NTC Spring Games.

In the lid-lifter against Lake Superior State, senior pitcher Lori Andjelich was nearly unhittable for the second time this season. Andjelich did not allow a base hit in the first six innings and LSSU's Nichole Dunford's leadoff single in the seventh inning prevented Andjelich's second no-hitter of the year. For the game, Andjelich gave up just one base hit and walked two batters. She struck out seven in seven innings, improving her record this season to 6-3.

Woityra provided all the run support that Andjelich would need. She went 2-for-3 at the plate with both GVSU runs batted in. In the third inning, a Woityra single scored senior outfielder Karen Walters to put the Lakers ahead, 1-0. Just one inning later, freshman Maggie Kerrigan tripled and was then driven in on another Woityra run-scoring single. Freshman Tina Briggs and junior Rebecca Plummer also added base hits for the Lakers.

Against Urbana in the nightcap, the Blue Knights got on the board first in the second inning on a homerun off of GVSU starter Lauren Rohan. Urbana added a run in the top of the sixth to push ahead, 2-0. However, the Laker offense responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Woityra started the frame with an infield single and was pushed to third on junior Breanne Kronberg's double to left field. One batter later, both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Plummer's groundout scored Kronberg to tie the game at 2-2.

Andjelich replaced Rohan in the sixth inning and although Urbana advanced a runner to second base in the seventh inning, GVSU kept the Blue Knights off the scoreboard. In the home half of the seventh, Walters walked with one out. Briggs followed with a bunt single to push Walters to second base. One batter later and with two outs in the inning, Woityra followed with an RBI double to left field, scoring Walters for the game-winning run.

Woityra went 3-for-4 in the second game, totaling a 5-for-7 day, including three RBI. Briggs and junior first baseman Stephanee Schrader went 2-for-3 in the nightcap. Andjelich (7-3) earned the victory, giving up one hit in two innings of relief work. Rohan also pitched well, allowing just five hits and no walks in five innings. She struck out five batters.

At the conclusion of all the games, an all-tournament team was named. Woityra was voted the tournament's most valuable player, while Andjelich was the most valuable pitcher. Woityra (shortstop), Walters (outfield), and Kronberg (utility player) were also named to the all-tournament team. GVSU went 3-0, while Lake Superior State was 2-1, Urbana went 1-2, and Lake Erie was 0-3.

GVSU is scheduled to open the home portion of its regular season schedule with a doubleheader on Wednesday (Mar. 18) at 3:00 p.m. against Saint Joseph's. The Lakers defeated SJU, 6-0, on Mar. 2 on their spring trip.