April 10, 2011
Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)
Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State completed a weekend sweep over visiting Lake Superior State on Sunday (Apr. 10) in Allendale, winning both games of the doubleheader by scores of 4-2 and 10-2. Coupled with GVSU's two wins over Lake Superior State on Saturday, the Lakers went 4-0 over the weekend and have now won 10 consecutive games. Grand Valley State outhit the visitors 24-12 and added three more home runs to its own program record.
Winners of 25 of its last 27 games, GVSU is now 27-4 on the year and 13-1 in league play. The 10-game win streak is only the Lakers' second-longest of the season, as the team won 12 contests in a row from March 11-26. Lake Superior State falls to 3-20 overall and 0-16 in conference play. Grand Valley State broke the all-time single-season home run record on Saturday, as its eight homers gave the team 48 on the year, breaking the 2007 total of 43 dingers. The Lakers continued to add to that figure, smashing three more roundtrippers on Sunday.
In the opener, GVSU did all of its scoring in the second and third innings. In the bottom of the second, freshman Tonya Calkins led off with a single up the middle and two batters later, she scored all the way from first on an RBI triple down the right field line from shortstop Briauna Taylor. The next batter, junior catcher Carli Raisutis, singled to left field, scoring Taylor for a 2-0 Laker advantage.
Lake Superior State cut the deficit in half in the top of the third by getting an RBI single from Felicia Gingrich to make the score 2-1. With two runners in scoring position, however, LSSU was stranded as junior righthander Andrea Nicholson struck out Danielle Reveley looking to end the frame. In the bottom half of the inning, sophomore Katie Martin blasted her 15th homer of the season - a solo shot to right field that put the Lakers up 3-1. Martin is tied for the team lead in home runs with freshman third baseman Miranda Cleary.
Calkins then doubled to right center field and Cleary walked. Taylor came up next and singled to center, driving in Calkins for a 4-1 lead. LSSU would plate a run in the fourth on a solo homer from third baseman Ronlea Peterson, but that would close the scoreboard, as neither team would push another run across the plate.
Nicholson pitched very well and improved to 11-1 on the season. She tossed a complete-game eight-hitter, giving up two earned runs and not walking a batter. Nicholson fanned eight batters in the win. Offensively, Taylor was 3-for-3 with a triple, a run scored, and two RBI. Calkins went 2-for-4 with a double and scored twice, while sophomore Nellie Kosola was 2-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases.
GVSU got on the board quickly in game two, as Taylor pushed Martin home on an RBI single in the top of the first inning. The Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the second as sophomore Jackie Teutsch lined a shot to center field that was misplayed and dropped by the outfielder, scoring catcher Emily Holt from second base. Grand Valley State, however, opened the game up with a six-run third inning, with all six runs coming with two outs.
After the first two batters were retired, Briauna Taylor singled up the middle and stole second. She was able to trot home as sister Brittany Taylor notched her first collegiate homer - a two-run shot to left center field that put the Lakers up 4-0. Three straight singles from Holt, Teutsch, and Kosola loaded the bases for sophomore second baseman Kayleigh Betram. She did not disappoint, as Bertram drilled a pitch to the right center field gap for a three-run double, easily scoring Kosola all the way from first base. Just for good measure, Martin knocked Bertram in with a double of her own, also to right center, pushing the lead out to 8-0.
The Taylor twins were at it again in the fourth inning. Briauna smacked a one-out double to center field, hustling the entire way and turning a would-be single into a two-base hit. Brittany again followed her and again cleared the bases with a home run to right center field, pushing the Lakers into double digits with a 10-0 lead. Lake Superior State would score twice in the bottom of the fifth, but the mercy rule was in effect and GVSU had taken four straight games from LSSU.
Martin was in the circle for the Lakers and she improved to 8-1 on the season by giving up just two hits in four innings of work. She did not issue a walk and struck out four batters. At the plate, she was 3-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI.
Briauna Taylor went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. In the doubleheader, she was a perfect 6-for-6 with a double, triple, three runs, and three RBI. Brittany Taylor was 2-for-3 with two homers, two runs, and four RBI in the nightcap. Holt also notched a multi-hit outing, as she was 2-for-3 and scored twice. Bertram delivered the three RBI with her bases-clearing double in the fourth.
Grand Valley State has a big week coming up with four doubleheaders and eight pivotal games in the next seven days. Three of the twinbills will be played in Allendale, but the Lakers first travel to Hillsdale on Wednesday (Apr. 13) for a re-scheduled double dip with the Chargers. Those games will start at 3:00 p.m. GVSU will be back at home over the weekend (Apr. 15-17) against Tiffin, Wayne State, and Findlay.
