March 4, 2011
Game One Box Score (8-3 W)
Game Two Box Score (11-0 W)
Auburndale, Fla. - #7 Grand Valley State (6-1) swept Gannon (3-7) in a doubleheader on Friday (Mar. 4) as the offense led the way for the Lakers, who won game one 8-3 and game two 11-0. The 11-run margin of victory in the shutout was the largest shutout for GVSU since exactly two years ago, when the Lakers defeated West Virginia Wesleyan 19-0. Freshman Bill Maple and junior Cory Rademacher got wins for the Lakers, while senior Torre Aguirre and juniors Jared Cowan and Derrik Strzalkowski each had homeruns, Cowan's being a grand slam.
In game one, GVSU got a quick start in the first inning as Paul Young and Cody Grice each singled and then moved to second and third on a wild pitch with Strzalkowski at the plate. A groundout to second base was enough to score Young for the first run of the game and Brian Robinson singled home Grice in the next at-bat to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead.
Gannon came back and took the lead in the bottom of the second, as a two-run double tied the game with two outs in the inning. After a wild pitch advanced the runner to third and a hit by pitch put a man on first, an errant snap throw that went into right field scored the go-ahead run. Gannon led 3-2 after two innings of play.
GVSU rebounded in the top of the third with a Cory Phillips bunt to lead off the inning that put him at first and a Garrett Yatch single moved Phillips to third as Yatch went to second on the throw into the infield. Young grounded out to second base but it was enough to score the run from third to tie the game and Grice put the Lakers ahead for good with a single in the next at-bat that scored Yatch to make it a 4-3 game. Strzalkowski took advantage of a stiff wind out to right field and sent an opposite field homerun into the trees beyond the right field fence to move the lead to 5-3 for GVSU.
A Yatch two-RBI single in the top of the fourth made the lead 7-3 and a Blake Batteast groundout to shortstop scored Robinson from third base in the top of the sixth to make it 8-3.
Cody Westerhuis started game one, going 2.2 innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out three. Maple (1-0) got the win in relief, going 2.1 innings and allowing only one hit while striking out four. Brad Zambron pitched two shutout innings with three strikeouts to finish the game.
On offense, Grice led the team with three hits in four at-bats, scoring once and driving in one run while collecting his fifth stolen base of the season. Yatch was 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI while Strzalkowski also had two RBI. Young, Robinson and Batteast each had one RBI. Eight different players crossed the plate for the Lakers in the game.
In game two it was all GVSU right from the start. Grice hit a sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the first to score Phillips who had reached on a single and advance to third on a Chris Rudenga hit to make it 1-0.
The bottom of the fourth broke the game open for the Lakers as Aguirre and Andrew Trepel both walked to lead off the inning. Giancarlo Brugnoni attempted to sacrifice them over, but an errant throw by the pitcher to first put Brugnoni on to load the bases with nobody out. Cowan then lifted a pitch towards the opposite field in right and used the wind to his advantage as well, parking a grand slam into the trees for his first homer of the season and GVSU's second grand slam of the year. Grice nearly hit the second homerun of the inning later, driving a pitch into left field that the wind knocked down into the fence. Grice went in with a stand-up triple that scored two runs as Phillips and Dan Ponegalek each came in to score to make it a 7-0 game. Steve Anderson then singled a grounder back up the middle to score Grice, making the damage 8-0 before Gannon got out of the inning.
The Lakers added another in the bottom of the fifth after Phillips singled and Rudenga drove a triple into the right-center field gap that scored him from first to make it 9-0. In the bottom of the sixth, Anderson singled to lead off the inning and Aguirre became the third Laker to homer on the day, sending a two-run bomb over the right field fence to make it 11-0.
The pitching was spectacular in the nightcap, surrendering only two hits in the game, both coming in the first three innings. Rademacher (1-0) got the win in his season debut, going five innings and allowing only two hits while striking out four. Brett Gwaltney and Jacob Cox each pitched a scoreless inning in relief and combined for three strikeouts.
Cowan was 1-for-4 with a run and four RBI in the game off his grand slam. Aguirre was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI off his homer to go with one walk. Phillips and Anderson each went 2-for-4 in the game as Phillips scored three times and Anderson once in addition to his RBI. Rudenga was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Grice went 1-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI, two of which came off his triple.
The Lakers are back in action on Saturday (Mar. 5) when they take on Southwest Minnesota State in Winter Haven, Fla. at 3 PM. It will be the season opener for the Mustangs, who went 29-18 last season and advanced to the championship game of the NSIC Tournament.
