March 7, 2010
Box Score
Auburndale, Fla. - #5 Grand Valley State picked up where they left off on offense, en route to a doubleheader sweep of St. Joseph's College. Brad Raj got the win in game one, a 9-7 victory, and Matt Cade threw a complete game in the Lakers' 8-3 win in the nightcap.
In game one, Grand Valley State was slow out of the gates, finding themselves down 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning. Brian Robinson began the third inning with a walk, and Jared Cowan was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. After a Cory Phillips sacrifice bunt to move the runners over, Cody Grice shot a groundball between first and second to cut the lead in half, but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit to a double. Andrew Trepel came up next and tied the game for the Lakers with a double in the left field gap to bring home Cowan.
Three straight hits to begin the bottom of the fourth inning put Grand Valley State ahead for the rest of the game, as a Cory Maguire single, Paul Young single, and a Steve Anderson double put two runs on the board, giving the Lakers a 4-2 lead. They would add another run on with a Trepel single to the shortstop later in the inning, and had a 5-2 lead after four.
The Lakers would pour it on in the fifth with four more runs to make it a 9-2 lead, but St. Joseph's made a comeback in the sixth inning, scoring four runs, all through consecutive bases loaded walks, to make it a 9-6 game. Cory Rademacher came in with two outs in the top of the sixth, and would close the door for the save in the seventh, allowing only one more run to make it a 9-7 final.
Grice, Trepel, and Anderson all had two runs batted in for the game, while Cowan and Phillips each had one. Maguire was 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the game. Brad Raj got the victory on the mound for the Lakers, pitching five innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs, and five walks, while striking out four. Rademacher got the save with one and a third innings of work, two hits allowed, one run (zero earned), and three strikeouts.
In game two, Grand Valley State again found themselves down 2-0 until the fourth inning, when Maguire cut the lead in half with the team's first homerun of the season, a towering shot down the right field line.
The offense continued in the fifth inning, when a double steal by Chris Rudenga and Zach Laupp led to two errors by St. Joseph's, bringing both runners around to score, making it a 3-2 Laker lead. St. Joseph's would tie the game in the bottom of the fifth though as a Cade wild pitch would bring home a run, making the game 3-3.
In the top of the sixth, Maguire almost had his second homerun of the game two different times. He first took a pitch on a line drive down the right field line that went over the fence, but just foul, and followed it up on the next pitch with a ball to the right field gap that the center fielder dropped at the wall, putting Maguire on third base. After two Laker strikeouts, Phillips came to the plate as a pinch-hitter and forced an error by the shortstop as he sprinted down the first base line to beat out a chopper, scoring Maguire to make it a 4-3 Grand Valley State lead. After a Laupp single, Phillips and Laupp converted a double-steal, putting runners at second and third. Chris Rudenga would capitalize, punching a ball into the right field gap which scored both runners, making it a 6-3 game. After Rudenga stole third base, Grice reached on a fielding error by the third baseman which scored Rudenga to make it a 7-3 game.
Grand Valley State would add one more on in the seventh, as Anderson got a single and stolen base, leading to an RBI for Brian Robinson as he hit a single to left-center field to bring Anderson home, making it an 8-3 game. Cade would come out for the bottom of the seventh and retire St. Joseph's in order for the victory.
Cade moved to 2-0 on the season, as he pitched seven innings, allowing four hits, three runs (one earned), and three walks. He also struck out a career-high 11 batters. Laupp was 2-for-2 with two runs, and Rudenga was 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI to lead the Lakers.
GVSU moved to 4-1 on the season, and will take on Mansfield at 4:30 pm on Monday afternoon.
