April 17, 2011
Game One Box Score (18-5 W)
Game Two Box Score (14-1 W)
Tiffin, Ohio - The 3rd-ranked Laker baseball team extended their winning streak to 11 games with a doubleheader sweep of Tiffin for the second straight day on Sunday (Apr. 17). GVSU exploded offensively, putting 32 runs and 31 hits on the board in the twinbill. They were led by the first multi-home run game of the season from freshman Giancarlo Brugnoni, who went deep twice in game one.
For the fifth time in the last six games, the Lakers got on the board in the first inning thanks to a lead-off triple from junior Garrett Yatch who was brought in by senior Paul Young four pitches later to put GVSU up one.
The Lakers didn't ease up in the second, leading off the inning with two straight singles from junior Jared Cowan and senior Dan Ponegalek before they were sacrificed over to second and third by senior Andrew Trepel. After a passed ball erased one runner trying to come to home, Ponegalek scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0. After senior Cory Phillips walked and was moved to second on a balk, Yatch singled to center field to bring him in and make it 3-0. Yatch then stole second and came around to score when the throw from the catcher was sent into the outfield. The Lakers led 4-0 after two.
Brugnoni started his big day in the third inning by singling in junior Steve Anderson, who had tripled to start the inning. Trepel doubled in Brugnoni later in the inning and Young brought in another run with an infield single to make it 7-0 GVSU.
Tiffin put three runs up in the bottom half of the third to make it a 7-3 game, but the Lakers responded with a four-run fourth inning thanks to a bases loaded walk, sacrifice fly and two RBI-singles from GVSU to make it 11-3. The Dragons again responded with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to keep within striking distance at 11-5, but the Lakers put the game away in the fifth.
Two straight singles to start the fifth inning from junior Cody Grice and Anderson got things started and they performed a double steal to put two men in scoring position for Brugnoni. It turned out it didn't really matter where they were on the basepaths, because Brugnoni drove a three-run homer to center field to make it a 14-5 game. A sacrifice fly by senior Torre Aguirre later in the inning made it 15-5.
Brugnoni deposited a solo shot over the fence in the right field gap in his next at-bat in the sixth inning, marking the first multi-homer game for a Laker this year and only the second time all season that GVSU hit multiple home runs as a team in a game. Phillips had a two-RBI double later in the inning to make it 18-5 to end the scoring.
Junior Kyle Schepel got the victory in the game, pitching four innings and allowing nine hits and five runs while striking out four. He is now 7-0 on the season. Junior Christopher Whitney picked up the rare three-inning save, pitching three perfect innings of relief and striking out three to earn his third save of the season.
Brugnoni finished the game 3-for-5 with four runs, five RBI and a walk, including his second and third homers of the season. He has three home runs in his last 12 at-bats. Phillips finished the game 2-for-3 with one run, three RBI and two walks. Trepel was 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI while Young went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Trepel had three doubles in the game, the most in a game for an individual at GVSU since 2000. Yatch crossed over into the .400 category in batting average for the season by going 2-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI. Grice and Anderson both had two hits in the game as well. The 21 hits in the game for the Lakers is the highest of the season and the most since
Pistorio took the loss for the Dragons, allowing 11 hits and 10 runs in three innings of work.
Game two was an even quicker start for the Lakers, as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one inning. A Phillips walk to lead off the game and then a stolen base and wild pitch put the runner at third with one out. After a Grice walk, Anderson singled Phillips in and moved Grice to third. Brugnoni continued his big day by singling up the middle to bring in the second run of the inning. Trepel reached on a fielder's choice next, but a throwing error allowed everyone to move up and let Anderson score to make it 3-0. After Ponegalek walked to load the bases, junior Zach Laupp doubled into right field to bring two more runs in. A Chris Rudenga RBI-ground out made it a 6-0 game and a single by Phillips up the middle brought in the final run of the frame for the Lakers.
GVSU poured it on the top of the third, capped by a bases clearing double from Young that brought three runs in to make it a 10-0 game. An Anderson RBI single and a sacrifice fly from Brugnoni made it a 12-0 game later in the inning.
The Lakers added one each in the sixth and seventh innings, including Trepel's first home run of the season to lead off the sixth. Trepel also brought in the seventh inning run on an RBI single to center field that scored Grice. The Dragons were only able to manage one run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from McCutcheon.
Freshman Cody Westerhuis got the win for the Lakers, going four innings and allowing five hits and one run while striking out four to move to 2-0 on the year. Junior Cory Rademacher pitched one scoreless inning of relief and senior Joe Jablonski added two scoreless innings of relief to end the game.
Young went 2-for-5 with one run and three RBI to lead the offense while Anderson and Trepel each had two hits and two RBI in the game. Laupp had two RBI while Phillips went 1-for-2 with two runs, one RBI and two walks. Rudenga went 1-for-4 with a run and RBI as well. Brugnoni went 1-for-2 with one run and two RBI to finish his day with a line of 4-for-7 with five runs, seven RBI and two home runs. Trepel on the day went 6-for-9 with four runs and four RBI, including three doubles and a home run.
Klinker took the loss on the mound for the Dragons, allowing seven hits, 11 runs (eight earned) and four walks in 2.1 innings of work.
The Lakers are now 31-3 overall on the season with a 20-1 record in GLIAC play. The Dragons fall to 8-25 with a 4-15 mark in conference action. GVSU will take to the field again on Friday (Apr. 22) for a doubleheader against Findlay in the friendly confines of the Laker Baseball Field. Game one is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. The doubleheader will also be the first ever televised baseball games in GVSU history.
