May 2, 2010
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Allendale, Mich. - #11 Grand Valley State used a potent offense to top Wayne State today, 14-10. The Lakers scored in each of the first five innings and collected 17 hits in the game, tying their fourth highest total on the season. Senior Kyle Gendron took the spotlight on senior day, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, including his 13th double of the season.
Grand Valley State jumped out to an early lead, as Cody Grice hit his 18th double of the season to lead off the bottom of the first, advanced to third on a groundout, and then came home on a Gendron single to center field.
Wayne State responded with two in the top of the second to take a brief lead at 2-1, but the Lakers countered with three in the bottom of the frame, led by a Cory Phillips RBI triple, giving GVSU a 4-2 lead. The Warriors again responded with two in the top of the third to tie it, but the Lakers put four more runs on the board in the bottom of the third, including Gendron's RBI double, to take the lead for good at 8-4.
The offense continued for both teams in the fourth and fifth innings, with Wayne State putting up two in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to 8-6. The Lakers again kept the pressure on in the bottom of the fourth, as two wild pitches brought in runs and a Dan Ponegalek single down the right field line brought in another to make it an 11-6 Grand Valley State lead.
The Warriors made their last push in the top of the fifth, as a Ryan LaPensee two-RBI double led the way in the three-run inning to cut the lead to 11-9. A Gendron RBI single in the bottom half of the frame made it a 12-9 game, as the Lakers would add one run each in the bottom of the seventh and eighth to make it a 14-9 lead. Wayne State pushed one more across in the top of the ninth to make it 14-10, but senior pitcher Jared Knuth shut the game out to earn the victory in relief.
Knuth went 4.2 innings in relief, allowing only two hits, one walk, and one run while striking out two for the victory to move to 5-2 on the year. Starter Cory Rademacher went 4.1 innings and struck out four in the game.
Gendron's performance led the way for the Lakers on offense, but he was joined in the three-hit column by Ponegalek, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Before the game, Ponegalek was honored with the inaugural Tony Pfennig Scholarship Award, given to the player on the team who showed excellence on the field, in practice, and in the class room all season long.
Grice was 3-for-6 with two runs and one RBI, while Andrew Trepel, Steve Anderson, Jared Cowan, and Cory Phillips all had one RBI as well.
Knuth, Gendron, and Cory Maguire, who went 1-for-4 with a run, were all honored before the game as part of the senior day celebration, along with pitcher Matt Cade.
The Lakers finish out the regular season with a 33-12 overall record and 23-9 mark in the GLIAC, and will now prepare for the GLIAC Tournament, which is scheduled to take place May 6-8 in Chillicothe, Ohio at VA Memorial Stadium. The Lakers will be the #2 seed in the tournament and will face off against Ashland University in the opening game.
