March 20, 2011

Box Score vs. Urbana

Box Score vs. Notre Dame (Ohio)

Urbana, Ohio - At the Blue Knight Invitational in Urbana, Ohio on Sunday morning (Mar. 20), Grand Valley State turned to the home run to capture a pair of victories and win the tournament title. The Lakers received a two-out, two-run, walk-off blast from sophomore Nellie Kosola to upend Urbana by a 7-5 score in a game that went eight innings. GVSU then topped Notre Dame (Ohio) in the nightcap, 6-5, on the strength of three homers, two of which came off the bat of sophomore slugger Katie Martin.

It was the second consecutive year that the Lakers won the Blue Knight Invitational, as Grand Valley State is now 14-3 on the season. GVSU has won nine straight games and showed it could win close contests over the weekend. Of the Lakers' four victories, they notched wins in a pair of two-run games and also managed the one-run triumph over Notre Dame on Sunday.

GVSU's win streak was in jeopardy against Urbana in the opener, as the teams managed to go to extra innings tied at 5-5. Martin entered the game in the fourth inning in relief of starting pitcher Andrea Nicholson and took care of Urbana in the top of the eighth. Kosola came up to the plate with a runner on and two outs in the bottom of the frame and connected on a pitch, depositing it over the wall in right field for her first collegiate homer and the team's first walk-off home run of the year.

It was the third hit of the game for Kosola, who went 3-for-4 with the two-run blast. Sophomore second baseman Kayleigh Bertram also was 3-for-4 with three singles, while Martin added a 2-for-3 performance with a pair of RBI. She also picked up the win in the circle, moving to 4-1 on the season and striking out six batters in the process.

Grand Valley State used more late-inning dramatics in game two against Notre Dame. Sophomore righty Hannah Santora, the team's third pitcher of the game, struck out all three Falcons in the top of the seventh with the score tied at 5-5. In the bottom of the frame, Bertram reached base on a single and was replaced on the bases by pinch runner Jackie Teutsch.

Next up was Martin, who went to the opposite field and dropped a single in front of the NDC right fielder. Teutsch moved all the way to third base on the hit and while Martin was racing towards second to stretch the single into a double, the throw from the right fielder skipped past the second baseman and into left field. Teutsch easily scored from third base, notching the game-winning run in a much different fashion than the winning runs were scored in the opener.

That single for Martin was her third base hit of the game and easily the shortest of the three hits. She followed Bertram's solo homer in the bottom of third inning with a solo shot of her own for back-to-back jacks. The next time up, in the fifth, Martin smashed another homer, giving her 11 roundtrippers on the season. Her 11 dingers moves her into third place all-time in a single-season, as she passed former Laker Elizabeth Smith's 10 homers in 2007. The only player in front of Martin on the single-season list is Kim Biskup, who belted out 21 home runs in both 1999 and 2000. Martin's career total is now up to 20, which also moves her into third place on the career list, as well. She trails Smith (25; 2005-08) and Biskup (46; 1997-2000) for the most homers in GVSU history.

Shortstop Briauna Taylor was 3-for-3 with three singles and an RBI in game two, while Bertram was 2-for-3 with the homer. Santora picked up the victory and improves to 5-1 on the year. She pitched four innings of relief, striking out six batters overall, including striking out the side in the seventh inning.

Grand Valley State put four players on the all-tournament team, led by Martin, who was the all-tournament team pitcher and the tournament's most valuable player. Freshmen Tonya Calkins (first base) and Miranda Cleary (third base) joined Martin and Kosola (outfield) on the all-tournament team.

The Lakers are scheduled to play their home opener on Tuesday (Mar. 22) in a doubleheader against Saint Joseph's at 3:00 p.m., with weather permitting. If those games are rained out, GVSU will play next when it heads to Ohio for three sets of doubleheaders this weekend (Mar. 25-27) against Ohio Dominican, Ashland, and Lake Erie.