March 31, 2010
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Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State had two walk-off victories today against Hillsdale, as shortstop Andrew Trepel led the way for the Lakers, hitting a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh in game one to tie it, and then hitting a walk-off solo homerun in the bottom of the seventh in game two to win it. He added one other homerun in game one, and became only the tenth player since 1989 to hit two homeruns in one game, and became the first player since 1989 to hit three homeruns in one double-header for the Lakers.
In game one, the Chargers caught Grand Valley State early, putting up five runs in the first two innings before a Chris Rudenga two-run double in the bottom of the second made it 5-2. After a Scott Lantis homerun for Hillsdale in the top of the third to push the lead back to 6-2, the Lakers responded again, as a Steve Anderson two-run homer and a Trepel solo shot in the bottom of the third brought Grand Valley State back within one, at 6-5.
Hillsdale would add two more in the top of the fourth to make it an 8-5 game, but again the Lakers responded, as Zach Laupp tripled to begin the bottom of the fourth, and Rudenga drove him in with a sacrifice fly, making it 8-6. However, for the fifth straight inning, Hillsdale put runs on the board, again putting two more up to make it a 10-6 game after the top of the fifth. The Lakers responded again, with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a Trepel one-run single and a Jared Cowan one-run single in a pinch-hitting role, making the score 10-8.
Finally, in the sixth inning, both teams went three-and-out, but the action would return in the seventh, as Hillsdale added another run to make it an 11-8 game before the Lakers came up to bat in the home half of the final inning. Anderson reached on a fielder's choice, and advanced to second on a wild pitch with one out. Cory Maguire then came up and hit a towering pop-up in the middle of the infield, but miscommunication among the Hillsdale defense allowed the ball to drop, putting runners on first and second for the Lakers. That mistake set the stage for Trepel to hit a three-run tying homerun on a 2-1 count to tie the game at 11 with one out. After a Jeremy Trinkle fly out, Laupp singled to right field, and was followed by walks to Rudenga and Cody Grice, loading the bases with two out. Brian Robinson then took a 1-0 pitch straight up the middle over the pitcher's mound, scoring Laupp from third for the 12-11 walk-off victory.
Trepel led the Lakers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two homeruns, three runs, and four RBI. Anderson was 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI, while Laupp was 2-for-3 with three runs and Rudenga was 1-for-2 with three RBI. Brad Zambron (3-0) got the win in relief for the Lakers, going 3.2 innings and allowing five hits, three runs (two earned) and three walks while striking out two. The starter, Joe Jablonski, lasted 3.1 innings and allowed 12 hits, eight runs (seven earned), and two walks while striking out five.
In game two, more heroics were in store for the Lakers, as this time Grand Valley State were the ones to get up early. Grice led the game off with his fifth homerun of the year, and third homer to lead off a game, giving the Lakers a quick 1-0 lead. Grand Valley State kept the pressure on in the bottom of the second inning, as Giancarlo Brugnoni hit his first collegiate homerun to lead off the inning, making it a 2-0 game, and was followed by a Paul Young walk and a Cowan two-run homerun to make it a 4-0 game. After Grice singled and then advanced to third after an error and fielder's choice, Kyle Gendron came up and hit a towering homerun over the batter's eye in center field, the Lakers' third homerun of the inning and fourth of the game. After two powerful innings, the Lakers led 6-0.
Hillsdale mounted a comeback in the third inning, as Jeff Scarpelli had a two-run double and Brent Opland had a one-run single to make it a 6-3 game. In the top of the fourth, the Chargers continued their comeback, as an Adam Connell single to center field scored two, drawing Hillsdale to within one at 6-5.
The Lakers tried to distance themselves in the bottom of the fourth, as Trepel brought home Robinson on a sacrifice fly to make it a 7-5 game, but Hillsdale would complete their comeback in the top of the sixth with two runs off of errors to tie the game at seven.
Again, the bottom of the seventh came, and it was Trepel again with the big play, as he took the first pitch of the inning deep into left field and over the fence for the walk-off homerun and 8-7 win.
In game two, the Lakers tied a school record with five homeruns (3/18/06 vs Salem International), and were led by Grice and Brugnoni each collecting two hits and an RBI with their homeruns. Gendron, Trepel, and Cowan each had one hit and two RBI to go along with their homeruns as well. Cory Rademacher (3-0) got the win for the Lakers, as he went the complete seven innings, allowing eight hits, seven runs (five earned), and one walk while collecting a career-high 11 strikeouts, including five of them looking, the most for a Laker pitcher since 1989.
Grand Valley State moved to 19-5 on the year (11-2 GLIAC) as Hillsdale fell to 7-16 (4-8 GLIAC). The Lakers are back in action on Friday at 1 p.m. as they take on Findlay in a doubleheader at the Laker Baseball Field.
