April 15, 2011

Box Score (Game 1)

Box Score (Game 2)

Allendale, Mich. - On a blustery and chilly day in Allendale where winds swirled at more than 40 miles per hour, Grand Valley State split a league twinbill with visiting Tiffin on Friday afternoon (Apr. 15). The Lakers were dominant in game one, winning by a 13-0 score in five innings before GVSU fell 4-3 in the nightcap on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was the first of three straight home doubleheaders for the Lakers this weekend.

The two teams were ranked very highly in the latest Midwest Regional rankings, as GVSU entered as the top team in the region and Tiffin was third-ranked. With the split, Grand Valley State is 29-6 on the year and 15-3 in the GLIAC, while Tiffin is 23-10 overall and 14-4 in league play. The loss in game two was GVSU's first home loss this season (the Lakers are 9-1 in Allendale) and the team's last four losses are all one-run defeats.

Game one could not have been more lopsided, as Grand Valley State scored in all four of its at-bats and outhit the Dragons, 14-3. Junior righty Andrea Nicholson was terrific, allowing just three hits in a five-inning, complete game performance. In improving to 13-1 on the season, she did not walk a batter for the third time in her last four outings and recorded five strikeouts.

GVSU recorded 14 base hits, but also received some timely help from the Tiffin pitchers. The Lakers scored three runs on bases loaded walks, including their first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Leading 1-0 in the second, sophomore Nellie Kosola drilled a line drive to left field. Tiffin's left fielder Emily Shaw lost her footing and fell over, allowing the line drive to travel all the way to the wall. Kosola coasted into third base for her fourth triple of the season. Two batters later, she walked home as sophomore Kayleigh Bertram blasted her sixth home run of the season for a 3-0 Laker lead. Bertram's bomb sailed over the scoreboard in left center field, as she now has 11 roundtrippers in her career.

A 3-0 advantage for GVSU was not enough, as the Lakers put seven runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning. Freshman Tonya Calkins led off the frame with a solo home run to center field for her sixth dinger of the season. Third baseman Miranda Cleary was up next and doubled to left center field. Cleary was taken out for pinch runner Becky Gill, who then scored on Briauna Taylor's run-scoring single to center for a 5-0 lead. Consecutive walks with the bases loaded to freshman Brittany Taylor and sophomore Katie Martin pushed the lead out to 7-0, but Grand Valley State was not done.

Calkins came up for the second time in the inning and singled to right center field, driving in a pair of runs and upping the advantage to 9-0. In just the third inning alone, Calkins was 2-for-2 with three RBI. Cleary followed with an RBI single through the left side to put the Lakers up by 10 runs. GVSU would add three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Brittany Taylor smashed a two-run double to right field and then scored on Bertram's single to right center to conclude the scoring.

Bertram was 3-for-4 in the game with the homer, a run scored, and three RBI. Brittany Taylor also drove in three runs, scored three times, and went 2-for-3 with a double. Calkins added a 2-for-3 performance with a home run and three ribbies. Cleary was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI, while Kosola crossed home plate three times and was 2-for-3 at the dish.

Things started well for the Lakers in game two, as GVSU played a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Three straight walks to Brittany Taylor, Bertram, and Martin loaded the bases to begin the game. Two batters later, Cleary got jammed, but was able to poke a single down the left field line for an RBI base hit. Two batters later, with the bases still loaded and two outs, sophomore Emily Jones took a pitch in the helmet for a hit-by-pitch, which forced in the Lakers' second run.

Tiffin responded, however, with a run in the bottom of the inning on a manufactured run. Leadoff hitter Lauren Mazzuca doubled to right center, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a groundout. The Dragons tied the game at 2-2 in the second inning on a solo home run by Jessie Creakbaum. Neither team would score again until the seventh inning, as Martin and Tiffin's Mindy Meredith were both pitching very well and matching each other with zeroes on the scoreboard.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, it appeared that Tiffin had taken a 3-2 lead. With runners on the corners and one out, Meghan Baird sailed a flyball down the left field line. GVSU's Brittany Taylor caught the ball in foul territory for the second out, but Tiffin's Stephanie Bobotas attempted to tag up from third base. Bobotas beat the throw home for what looked like the go-ahead run, but the Lakers appealed to the umpires that Bobotas left early. She was called out for leaving third base before the catch, signaling the third out of the inning and taking the run off the board, continuing the game with a 2-2 tie.

The game was still tied in the seventh inning when Brittany Taylor doubled to center field with one out. Bertram then drove a single up the middle, but the ball was knocked down before it could leave the infield, as Taylor could only move over to third base, putting runners on the corners for Martin with one out. A good at-bat from Martin ended with her pushing a groundball to the second baseman, who retired Martin at first base, but not before Taylor came home with the go-ahead run.

In Tiffin's half of the seventh inning, Alyssa Brown pinch hit with one out and drove a single up the middle. The next batter, Amanda Temple, skied a flyball to center field that eventually cleared the fences for the game-winning two-run homer. Martin fell to 8-2 on the season, as she allowed four runs on 10 hits, while walking two batters and recording one strikeout. Meredith, Tiffin's ace pitcher, improved to 10-2 overall, giving up three runs on four hits. She walked five batters, but struck out seven Lakers.

Brittany Taylor was 1-for-3 and scored two of the team's three runs. Jones was 1-for-2 with an RBI, Martin was 0-for-2 with a ribbie, and Cleary went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Betram reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.

GVSU returns to action on Saturday (Apr. 16) at 1:00 p.m. in a twinbill against Wayne State. The games will be televised on Comcast 900 or by clicking here. It is the first time in program history that Laker softball games have been televised.