Feb. 11, 2011
Box Score
Greenwood, S.C. - #25 Grand Valley State University baseball kicked off their 2011 season today with a 6-4 comeback victory over Carson-Newman college at the Lander Baseball Invitational. A four-run bottom of the sixth gave the Lakers the lead, and junior Christopher Whitney pitched three innings of one-hit relief to nail down the victory, preserving the win for senior Joe Jablonski. Junior Steve Anderson crushed a two-run homer in the first, and senior Paul Young had three hits to lead the way for GVSU.
The action got started early for the Lakers, as junior Cody Grice was hit by a pitch in the first inning, then stole second as Anderson was at the plate. Anderson then went deep to left field to give GVSU an early 2-0 lead after one.
Carson-Newman hit a solo homerun in the top of the third to cut the lead in half, then took the lead in the top of the fourth, as the Eagles scored a run on a throwing error and put two more up on a two-RBI single to center to take a 4-2 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Grice had a one-out single and then stole second base, tying a career-high with two stolen bases in one game. After a strikeout left the Lakers with one out left in the inning, the rally started. Senior Andrew Trepel reached on an error by the shortstop, scoring Grice to make it a 4-3 game. A single to right field by junior pinch-hitter Derrik Strzalkowski advanced Trepel to third, and Strzalkowski went to second on a wild pitch. Young then hit a single to center field, scoring both runners to give the Lakers a 5-4 lead. A single by senior Dan Ponegalek to left field moved Young to third, and junior Zach Laupp reached on an error by the third baseman, scoring Young to make it a 6-4 game.
Whitney came in for the top of the seventh in his Laker debut, and was solid on the mound, going the final three innings, allowing only one hit while striking out one to get the save. Jablonski (1-0) had a final line of six innings, six hits, three earned runs, and four strikeouts to get the victory.
Leading the way on offense was Young, who went 3-for-4 with one run, two RBI and a triple, as he tied a career-high with five total bases. Anderson was 1-for-4 with one run and two RBI which came from his first inning homerun. Grice, the Tino Martinez Award watch list member, went 1-for-3 with two runs and two stolen bases. Strzalkowski went 2-for-2 with one run in his Laker debut.
Grand Valley State is now 1-0 on the season and will face #8 Tampa (2-2), the 2006 and 2007 national champion, tomorrow (Feb. 12) at 7 p.m. Tampa defeated Lander University 5-2 in 11 innings earlier in the day at the tournament.
