April 17, 2010
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
Ashland, Ohio - #13 Grand Valley State earned a key GLIAC split today at Ashland, dropping a game one decision 2-1, but taking game two 6-3. Sophomore Cody Grice was 3-for-3 in game two, and Cory Rademacher got the complete game victory in game two. With a Tiffin doubleheader sweep of Wayne State on Saturday, the Lakers are now only a half game back in the GLIAC standings.
In game one, Grand Valley State jumped out to an early lead as they have done in many games this season, with Grice reaching on an error to lead the game off, then advancing to second on a Brian Robinson single and advancing to third on Gendron groundout before Cory Maguire drove him in on a groundout.
Despite another solid pitching performance from Joe Jablonski, Ashland used some key hitting in the bottom of the sixth inning to push ahead, getting a two-RBI triple from Ryan Avery to go ahead 2-1.
The Lakers threatened in the top of the seventh, as Zach Laupp reached on an error with one out, and was advanced to third on a Grice single up the middle with two outs. A Robinson strike out ended the threat, however, as the Eagles took game one, 2-1.
Jablonski (5-1) took his first loss of the season, pitching all six innings and allowing eight hits, two earned runs, and two walks while striking out three. Grice, Robinson, Kyle Gendron, Andrew Trepel, and Torre Aguirre all had one hit each for the Lakers, and Maguire had the only RBI of the game. The come-from-behind victory for Ashland marked the first time all season that the Lakers have lost a game in which they led any time after the fourth inning (22-1).
In game two, Grand Valley State again got out to a quick start, as a Grice single and Robinson double put runners on second and third with nobody out, leading to a Gendron sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. Maguire then singled to right field to score Robinson, making it a 2-0 Grand Valley State lead after the top of the first inning.
Ashland didn't wait until late in the game to come back this time though, responding with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the first, pushing across two runs with two outs to tie the game.
The Lakers got one run in the top of the fifth, as Chris Rudenga led off the inning with a double to the right field gap and was moved to third on an Aguirre single. Jared Cowan brought Rudenga home on a sacrifice fly to right field, giving Grand Valley State a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the sixth inning, Grand Valley State almost duplicated their fifth inning, leading the frame off with a Grice double to the right field gap, and he was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Again, just like the fifth, a sacrifice fly brought Grice home, as Gendron lifted a fly ball to center field to make it a 4-2 lead for the Lakers.
In the top of the seventh, Trepel led the inning off with a single, and a couple batters later, Aguirre had his third homerun of the season, a two-run shot to right-center field to give the Lakers a 6-2 lead. In only 28 at-bats on the season, Aguirre's three homeruns place him fifth on the team in homers, as he leads the Lakers with a .786 slugging percentage, nearly a hundred points higher than the next best on the team.
Ashland tried to mount a comeback in the bottom half of the seventh inning, as a Jacob Petkac single brought a run in from second to make it 6-3, but a double play by Ben Minard ended the threat as the Lakers closed the game out.
Rademacher (4-1) got the victory on the mound, pitching all seven innings and allowing nine hits, three runs (two earned) and two walks while striking out two. Grice was 3-for-3 with two runs and a double in the game, and Aguirre was 2-for-3 with one run and two RBI off his two-run homer. Gendron had two RBI, both off sacrifice flies, while Maguire and Cowan each had an RBI as well.
The Lakers moved to 27-10 overall, 17-7 in the GLIAC with the split, and Ashland is now 23-15 overall, 13-8 in the GLIAC. The two teams will finish their weekend series on Sunday (Apr. 18) with a single nine-inning game slated to begin at noon.
