April 5, 2009

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State won both games of a home twinbill against Lake Superior State on Sunday (April 5) at GVSU Softball Field. The Lakers pulled out a 2-1 victory in the opener and recorded a 6-2 win in the nightcap. On Monday, the teams will meet again for another doubleheader, starting at 1:00 p.m.

The victories put GVSU at 25-8 overall and 5-3 in the GLIAC, while Lake Superior State falls to 6-27 with a 0-10 conference mark. It was the fourth and fifth meetings for the two teams already this season with another doubleheader coming on Monday afternoon. The teams met once at the Urbana Blue Knight Invitational on Mar. 15 and also played a non-conference doubleheader on Mar. 21. GVSU has won all five contests.

In game one, Lake Superior State was the home team as the doubleheader was originally scheduled to be play in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. LSSU jumped on the scoreboard first with a run in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Lorrie Chaperon, scoring Lacey Knoop.

The score would stay that way until the top of the fourth inning, when GVSU would score its only runs of the game. Senior shortstop Nichole Woityra started the frame off with a double to left field. Junior Breanne Kronberg followed with a shot to left field in almost the same location as Woityra's previous hit. LSSU leftfielder Helena Zandarski misplayed the ball, getting Kronberg to second base on the error and moving Woityra to third.

First baseman Stephanee Schrader followed with a two-run single to left centerfield to score both Woityra and Kronberg and giving Grand Valley State a 2-1 lead. That was just enough run support for senior pitcher Lori Andjelich, who allowed just two hits the rest of the way. Andjelich (14-4) gave up one run on just three hits, walking two and striking out four batters.

Freshman catcher Carli Raisutis went 2-for-3, while Woityra had the game's only extra-base hit with her fourth-inning double. GVSU tallied just four base hits, while Lake Superior State was held to three hits.

In the nightcap, neither team put a run on the board until the fifth inning, when Grand Valley State exploded for four runs off of LSSU starter Jillian Willette (2-12). Woityra notched a two-run double to left centerfield, scoring centerfielder Tina Briggs and pinch runner Maggie Kerrigan for the 2-0 GVSU lead. Later in the inning, Raisutis came through again with a two-run double, also to left centerfielder, scoring Schrader and Woityra.

Grand Valley State added a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth on a run-scoring double from second baseman Becky Gill and an RBI single from Woityra, which scored Gill. Lake Superior State tallied two runs in the top of the seventh off of starter Lauren Rohan, but freshman Andrea Nicholson recorded the final out of the game to end the scoring threat. Rohan pitched 6.2 innings, scattering eight hits and allowing just two runs. She walked one batter and struck out two, while improving to 7-3 on the year.

Briggs, Gill, and Woityra all recorded two hits apiece, while Woityra (three) and Raisutis (two) notched multi-RBI games. Six different players scored a run for GVSU in game two.