May 17, 2009

Box Score

Chillicothe, Ohio - #11 Grand Valley State claimed 4-3 decision over Indianapolis in NCAA DII Midwest Regional action Sunday afternoon in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Lakers forced a second championship game with the win and will play Indianapolis again at 3:20 p.m. at VA Memorial Field. The Lakers have advanced to the NCAA DII Midwest Regional title game in six of the last seven years. The winner of the NCAA DII Midwest Regional will advance to the NCAA DII World Series May 23-30 in Cary, N.C.

Indianapolis scored a pair in the bottom of the first, but the Lakers came back with one in the top of the second. LF Cody Grice walked and came home on a double to left off the bat of cather Bobby Walmsley. GVSU added two more in the top of the third with one-out back-to-back walks to 2B Kyle Gendron and 1B Cory Maguire. SS Brad Raj then doubled down the left field line to score both Gendron and Maguire and give the Lakers a 3-2 lead.

Indianapolis tied the game with a two-out RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh, but GVSU sccored the go ahead run in the top of the ninth. Freshman DH Steve Anderson walked and was sacrificed to second by Walmsley. RF Matt Nickels then doubled home Anderson to give GVSU a 4-3 lead.

Sophomore Joe Jablonski yielded just one hit in the final two innings en route to his sixth win of the year. GVSU starter, Danny Richard, yielded three runs on six hits in seven innings of work. Richard struck out five and walked two. Raj drove in two runs on a 2-for-4 outing, while Nickels drove in the game-winner with his seventh double of the year. Hillyard, Robrahn, Gendron, Maguire and Walmsley each collected one hit.