April 22, 2011

Box Score (Game 1)

Box Score (Game 2)

Big Rapids, Mich. - It was a good Friday for Grand Valley State, as the Lakers captured their eighth GLIAC doubleheader sweep of the season, winning both games at Ferris State on Friday afternoon (Apr. 22) in Big Rapids. GVSU opened the twinbill with an 11-4 victory, as Brittany Taylor totaled a pair of three-run homers, and then held on for a 6-5 win in the nightcap.

With the sweep, the Lakers moved to 34-7 overall and 20-4 in GLIAC play, improving on their program record of 20 conference victories. On Sunday when GVSU topped Findlay in a two-game sweep, the team captured their 17th and 18th league wins, the most in school history. Ferris State fell to 15-19 on the year and 12-10 in GLIAC play.

Though the opener appeared to be an easy seven-run win, it did not start out as a cakewalk. Ferris State took a 2-0 lead after the first inning before an RBI single from junior catcher Carli Raisutis in the top of the second cut the deficit in half. The Lakers tied the score in the third inning when freshman Miranda Cleary reached on an error and scored sophomore Katie Martin, who doubled earlier in the frame.

FSU regained the advantage in the bottom of the third on an RBI single, but Grand Valley State bounced back with three runs in the fourth and took a lead it would not relinquish. Sophomore Emily Jones doubled to center field to lead off the inning and Raisutis was hit by a pitch. After being sacrificed over to second and third base, centerfielder Brittany Taylor homered to center field for a three-run bomb and a 5-3 lead.

The Lakers tacked on single runs in the fifth (a Jones RBI single scored Briauna Taylor) and the sixth (freshman Tonya Calkins notched a single that plated Brittany Taylor) before adding four more runs in the seventh. With a 7-4 advantage, Briauna Taylor singled and Jones doubled to start the frame. After an RBI single off the bat of sophomore catcher Emily Holt scored a run, Brittany Taylor came to the plate again with two runners on base. She delivered her second three-run home run of the game, a shot to left center field that made the score 11-4. It was Brittany Taylor's fourth and fifth roundtrippers of the season and the team's ninth multi-homer game of the year. Taylor has done it twice, also homering twice against Lake Superior State on April 10.

In the circle for GVSU and the benefit of the Lakers' run support was junior Andrea Nicholson. The righty moved to 16-1 on the season by allowing four runs on nine hits. In less than ideal conditions, she did walk five batters, but also struck out five Bulldogs.

Brittany Taylor was 3-for-5 on the day with the two homers, three runs scored, and a career-high six RBI. The six RBI is the most by any GVSU player this season. Jones also tallied three hits, as she put together a 3-for-4 performance with an RBI, two doubles, and two runs scored. Calkins also had a multi-hit contest, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Briauna Taylor tied sister Brittany as both Taylor girls scored three runs in game one.

The storyline for the second game was the same as the first, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning. But the Lakers responded with four runs in the bottom of the second to push out to a 4-2 advantage. Brittany Taylor picked up where she left off, notching an RBI single that scored Cleary, who walked to start the frame. Sophomore Kayleigh Bertram later tallied a two-run single to left field, pushing Raisutis and pinch runner Maggie Kopas across home plate for the 3-2 lead. Martin's RBI single to right field on the next at-bat scored Taylor and put GVSU up by a pair of runs.

Both teams plated runs in the third inning, with the Lakers' mark coming on a solo homer to right field from Jones, her fifth blast of the season. Grand Valley State upped its advantage to 6-3 in the fifth when Jones doubled to left field and Holt drove her in with a single to center field. The Bulldogs, however, would not go quietly, as Ferris State tallied four straight hits in the sixth inning, one of which was a two-run homer from Chelsea Morris. GVSU got out of the inning, as Martin struck out the Bulldog hitter looking.

In the seventh inning and nursing a 6-5 advantage, Martin recorded the first two outs and worked around a harmless walk, getting a lineout to third base to end the game. Martin moved to 9-4 on the season by pitching six innings of relief. She allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walking three batters and fanning five hitters. At the plate, she was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Jones went 2-for-3 with a double, homer, RBI, and two runs scored, while Holt was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Brittany Taylor notched a 2-for-4 outing with a run and a ribbie, while Bertram's two RBI paced the Laker offense.

GVSU and Ferris State will play two more games on Saturday afternoon (Apr. 23) in Big Rapids with a 1:00 start time.