March 4, 2009

Box Score

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Grand Valley State scored nine runs in the fifth inning en route to a 19-0, seven-inning victory over West Virginia Wesleyan at the Chain of Lakes Stadium on Wednesday. The No. 5 Lakers (5-1) will play their next game at the University of Tampa on Thursday night.

Seniors Ben Knuth and Josh Hillyard led the way offensively, as both went 4-for-5 on the day. Knuth hit three doubles and finished with three runs batted in and another two scored. Hillyard batted in three runs and scored one of his own with one double. Senior Matt Nickels went 2-for-5 at the plate with a team-high five runs batted in and another two scored. Freshman Steve Anderson kept his hot streak alive at the plate, taking three walks in three appearances.

Junior Matt Cade earned the win, going five innings and giving up just four hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. Sophomore Josh Johnson pitched the final two innings for the Lakers and struck out two while giving up two hits and one walk. As a team, Grand Valley State scored 19 runs on 21 hits with no errors, while the Bobcats managed just six hits with no runs and no errors.

The Lakers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as senior Casey Robrahn singled to right field, scoring senior Bobby Walmsley. The pitchers controlled the game for two-and-a-half innings after that, keeping both teams off the scoreboard until the bottom of the fourth. In that frame, Knuth started it off with a double, followed by a double from Hillyard that plated the first run of the inning. After Hillyard was caught stealing on a snap throw from the catcher, sophomore Torre Aguirre walked, followed by one of Anderson's three walks. Nickels double down the left-field line scored both of them, making the score 4-0. The final run of the inning came courtesy of an RBI-single by junior Kyle Gendron.

Holding a 5-0 lead heading into the fifth inning, Grand Valley State exploded for nine runs to make it 14-0. Junior Cory Maguire led off the inning with a single to center field, followed by another double from Knuth that scored Maguire. An RBI-single to right-center field from Hillyard made it 7-0. With two runners on, Anderson drew his third walk of the day to load the bases for Nickels. He promptly hit the Lakers' first triple of the season, plating all three runs. Nickels scored on a double to left-center field by Gendron later in the inning. Robrahn hit a deep sacrifice fly to left field that scored another run. Maguire and Hillyard both hit RBI-singles to close out the inning with Grand Valley State holding a commanding 14-0 lead.

Another five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning concluded the scoring. Senior Dan Anstedt made his first plate appearance to lead off the inning and blasted a moonshot to left field for his first home run of the year. Freshman Cody Grice hit a two-RBI single up the middle and Knuth plated two more runs with his third double of the day and fourth of the season.