April 17, 2011

Box Score (Game 1)

Box Score (Game 2)

Allendale, Mich. - On the third straight day in which Grand Valley State played in less than ideal weather conditions, the Lakers were able to earn a doubleheader sweep over visiting Findlay on Sunday (Apr. 17) in Allendale. While the temperature was in the low-40's and winds were swirling near 40 miles per hour, GVSU won both games by mercy rule, hitting .542 on the day. The Lakers tallied 19 hits in a 14-2 game one victory, then somehow connected for a pair of home runs despite the wind in a 9-1 win in the nightcap.

The sweep was a nice way to end a week in which GVSU played four doubleheaders, including three straight twinbills over the final three days in weather normally seen in January or February, not the middle of April. With the wins, Grand Valley State improves to 32-7 overall and 18-4 in the GLIAC, while Findlay drops to 18-16-1 on the year and 6-13 in league play. GVSU's 18 conference victories are the most league wins in school history, topping the 17 GLIAC wins by both the 2002 and 2003 teams.

Game one saw Findlay put a run on the board in the top of the first, but the Lakers answered in the bottom of the second inning - in a big way. GVSU blew the game wide open with nine runs on 10 hits for a 9-1 advantage. The Lakers started the inning with six consecutive singles. Junior Carli Raisutis drove in freshman Miranda Cleary with a run-scoring single and center fielder Nellie Kosola scored Briauna Taylor on a single to left field, putting GVSU ahead 2-1. Freshman Brittany Taylor singled up the middle, which scored Raisutis for a 3-1 lead.

Three batters later with two outs and the bases still loaded, freshman first baseman Tonya Calkins singled to center field, scoring both Kosola and sophomore Jackie Teutsch, who also singled. After a walk to Cleary in her second at-bat of the inning (she led off earlier in the frame), Briauna Taylor drove a ball to the wall in left center field, clearing the bases for an easy three-run stand-up triple. Taylor then scored moments later, as Raisutis singled sharply to left field for the final run of the nine-run inning. Briauna Taylor, Raisutis, and Kosola were all 2-for-2 in just the second inning alone, while Cleary started the inning with a single and reached on a walk.

Findlay put a run on the board in the top of the third, but the Lakers added three more runs in their half of the inning. Sophomore Kayleigh Bertram doubled to left center field, scoring Brittany Taylor, who lead off with a single through the left side. Bertram was pushed home on Calkins' RBI single to left field for an 11-2 lead and Calkins later scored on Briauna Taylor's single to left center field. GVSU closed the scoring in the fourth inning, with two runs on an error and a wild pitch.

All the run support was more than enough for junior Andrea Nicholson. The righthander has been terrific in April, moving to 7-0 with a 2.00 ERA in the month. On Sunday, she gave up two runs (one earned) on eight hits. She did walk three batters, but struck out two and recorded nine outs in the air despite the tough winds. Nicholson is now 15-1 on the season with a 3.01 earned run average.

The Taylor twins each tallied three hits, although seven different Lakers totaled multi-hit games and 10 GVSU players notched at least one hit. Briauna was 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored, and four RBI, while Brittany was 3-for-4, an RBI and a stolen base, and three runs. Calkins was 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI and Cleary went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored. Raisutis, Kosola, and Teutsch were all 2-for-3 and scored two runs apiece, as Raisutis drove in a pair of runs and Kosola had one RBI.

GVSU closed out the sweep by jumping ahead of Findlay early in game two. Brittany Taylor led off the game with a single through the left side and then stole second base. Two batters later, sophomore slugger Katie Martin lifted a high fly ball to right center field, but the wind pushed it towards the right field line, where it eventually cleared the fence for a two-run homer and a 2-0 Laker lead. It was Martin's 16th roundtripper of the season, tying her with Cleary for the team lead, at least for a few innings. The blast was also Martin's 25th of her career, tying her with former Laker Elizabeth Smith for the second-most home runs in Grand Valley State history.

The Oilers pushed their only run across the plate in the third inning, when a flyball fell in center field for a wind-aided RBI double, making the score 2-1. In the fourth, Emily Jones led off the inning with a double to right field, then moved to third on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Brittany Taylor reached on a bunt single and Jones came home when the throw from the Oiler catcher went past the first baseman, allowing her to score for a 3-1 advantage.

In the fifth inning, Cleary re-gained the team home run lead from Martin with a solo homer to center field that still somehow cleared the fence despite the strong winds blowing in from left field. Her 17th roundtripper puts her third in GVSU single-season history and tied for fifth-most in Laker career history. It was the fourth time this season in which both Martin and Cleary homered in the same game, while the team pushed its own program record to 60 home runs this year.

With a 4-1 lead, Grand Valley State pushed the game open with five more runs in the top of the sixth. Bertram and Martin each delivered run-scoring singles, while Cleary earned an RBI on a bases loaded walk and Briauna Taylor picked up a ribbie while being hit by a pitch with the bases still juiced. After the inning, the Lakers led 9-1 and sophomore pitcher Hannah Santora went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth to close out the game.

Santora actually retired the final 10 Findlay batters in order, going 1-2-3 in both the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. She moves to 9-2 on the season by giving up just one run on five hits in six innings in the circle. She did not walk a batter and struck out two Oilers, while inducing 11 groundball outs.

Martin went 3-for-4 with a double and a homer, two runs scored, and three RBI, while Cleary was 3-for-3 with a home run and two ribbies. On the day, Cleary was a perfect 5-for-5 with a homer, two RBI, and three runs scored. Jones was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs in game two, while Brittany Taylor went 2-for-2 with a run scored and two stolen bases. The Taylor twins are a combined 13-for-13 on stolen base attempts this season, with Brittany owning eight of those steals.

Grand Valley State is at home again on Wednesday (Apr. 20) in a doubleheader with Hillsdale beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Allendale.