April 2, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - #9 Grand Valley State University again brought out the big bats today, scoring a combined 34 runs to take both games of a doubleheader against Findlay, 13-8 and 21-9. Two days after Andrew Trepel became the first Laker since at least 1989 to hit three homeruns in a doubleheader, senior first baseman Cory Maguire replicated the feat, hitting one homerun in game one and two in game two to lead the Lakers.

In game one, Grand Valley State took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning, as Cody Grice led the game off with a single before stealing second, advancing to third on a Brian Robinson single, and then crossing the plate on a Kyle Gendron single to make it 1-0 Lakers.

Findlay responded in the top of the fourth to take the lead 2-1, but Grand Valley State responded in a big way in the bottom half of the fourth. A one-out Trepel single brought two runs in to give the Lakers a 3-2 lead, and a Jared Cowan single a couple batters later drove in Trepel to make it 4-2. The Lakers would add three more runs in the frame to end the inning with a 7-2 lead.

Grand Valley State extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth, as Maguire and Steve Anderson led off the frame with back-to-back homeruns, the Maguire shot being long enough to hit the Laker Turf Building on a couple bounces. A Paul Young triple in the next at-bat led to another RBI for Cowan on a grounder to the pitcher, and the Lakers would again add two more runs before ending the inning with a 12-2 lead.

Findlay would threaten in the last two innings, putting up three runs in both frames, and the Lakers added one more in the bottom of the sixth, but took the win 13-8. Jared Knuth (2-1) got the win for Grand Valley State, going six innings, allowing 10 hits and five runs while striking out five. Leading the way on offense for the Lakers were Grice, Trepel, and Cowan all with two RBI. Maguire, Anderson, and Torre Aguirre all had homeruns in the game, giving the Lakers 11 homeruns in the last three games.

In game two, the Lakers again got off to a fast start, putting up three runs in the bottom of the first inning, led by a two-run Maguire homerun. Findlay responded with one run each in the top of the second and third, however, to make it a 3-2 game.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Lakers really got their bats going to the tune of 10 runs, as Maguire had another two-run homerun, and catcher Zach Laupp hit his first career homerun, a three-run inside the park homer to the left field gap. After four innings, the Lakers led 13-2, but they were not done yet. The Lakers kept the hit parade going in the bottom of the fifth with eight more runs including a Cory Phillips bases-clearing double, giving the Lakers a 21-2 lead.

Findlay again wouldn't go away, however, scoring four runs in the sixth and three runs in the seventh to make the final score 21-9. The 21 runs were the most the Lakers have scored since putting up 25 against Findlay in 2007. Brad Zambron (4-0) got the win for the Lakers, pitching two innings in relief and allowing one hit and two walks to go with two strikeouts. On offense, Grand Valley State was led by Young, who went 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBI. In the game, the 6-7-8-9 hitters for the Lakers went a combined 11-for-16 with 11 runs and nine RBI.

The Lakers take to the field again on Saturday (Apr. 3) at 10:30 a.m. when they finish up their series with Findlay with a single nine-inning game. The game was originally scheduled for noon, but has been moved up due to the threat of rain in the early afternoon.