March 7, 2011

Box Score vs. Wayne State

Box Score vs. Bloomsburg

Clermont, Fla. - After Grand Valley State won both games on the opening day of the 2011 season, the Lakers fell to a pair of tough teams on Monday afternoon (Mar. 7) in Clermont, Fla. Wayne State (Neb.) topped GVSU by a 7-4 count in the opener and #8 Bloomsburg captured a 10-2 victory over the Lakers in game two. Grand Valley State will take a 2-2 record into Tuesday's games against Urbana and Mansfield.

The Lakers opened the new season with shutout victories over Millersville and Post on Sunday, but GVSU hit a tough part of the schedule on Monday. Wayne State (Neb.) is just outside of the NFCA Top-25 and the Wildcats are much better than their 3-6 record may show. Bloomsburg improved to 4-2 with the win over Grand Valley State, which is now 2-2 on the season.

In the opener against Wayne State (Neb.), the Lakers put a run on the board in the first inning. Sophomore Nellie Kosola doubled to left center and moved over to third base on a groundout. Freshman first baseman Tonya Calkins then singled down the left field line, putting GVSU on top, 1-0. WSC then retaliated with three runs in the bottom half of the inning off Laker righty Andrea Nicholson, with a two-rin single from Blaire Kuhl and an infield run-scoring single from Rachel Dukich totaling the runs for the Wildcats.

But Grand Valley State quickly responded, as sophomore catcher Emily Holt deposited a one-out pitch over the wall in left field for a solo homer. Two batters later, sophomore outfielder Jackie Teutsch singled through the left side and Kosola came through with her second straight double - this two-bagger went down the left field line and drove in Teutsch to tie the score at 3-3.

Wayne State (Neb.) re-gained the lead on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second and would add another run on a solo homer off the bat of Jennifer Radley in the third to make the score, 5-3. Starting the top of the fourth frame, Emily Jones drilled a double deep down the left field line and eventually scored on a two-out single up the middle from Teutsch, bringing the Lakers within a run at 5-4.

The Wildcats would answer back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run, two-out single from Radley that put the home team ahead 7-4, which would be enough for the win. Katie Goetzinger pitched five innings of relief for Wayne State and was very sharp. She picked up the win (1-1) by giving up one run on five hits and striking out nine batters.

Nicholson (0-1) took her first loss of the season, giving up five earned runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings of work. Sophomore Hannah Santora pitched 2.1 innings of relief and allowed two runs on one hit, while striking out three batters. Freshman Kayla Hurd recorded a 1-2-3 inning in her first collegiate appearance for the Lakers. Teutsch and Kosola each notched a pair of hits, with Teutsch going 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI and Kosola tallying a ribbie and a run scored.

GVSU then faced a very good Bloomsburg squad in the early afternoon, but again the Lakers got ahead early. This time it was the bat of sophomore Katie Martin that put the team on top, as the slugger belted an opposite field homer in the bottom of the first, giving the home team a 1-0 advantage. It was Martin's fourth homer of the young season and 13th dinger of her short career, putting her in a tie for eighth place all-time in Laker history with Denise Ireton (2003-06).

Martin was also on the mound against Bloomsburg and the Huskies responded with a big second inning. After a strange play where Bloomsburg scored a run after the Lakers had a Husky runner caught in a rundown, the very next batter, Lacy Mauro, smashed a three-run homer to left field for a 4-1 lead. The Huskies were up 5-1 in the fifth inning when Teutsch led off with an infield single. She moved to second on a passed ball and was driven in on a double down the right field line from junior Becky Gill, making the score 5-2.

That was as close as the Lakers would get, as Bloomsburg notched two runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh, with four of the five runs coming on two homers. Husky starter Shavaun Fisher recorded the complete game victory for BU by scattering nine hits and striking out four batters.

For the Lakers, Martin took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits in four innings of work. She is 0-1 on the year. Offensively, Martin was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, while junior shortstop Maggie Kerrigan was 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of singles.

GVSU will square off with Urbana at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon and follow that up with a 3:30 p.m. meeting with Mansfield before having an off-day on Wednesday.