April 9, 2011

Box Score (Game 1)

Box Score (Game 2) |  Photo Gallery 

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State continued its remarkable offensive season on Saturday afternoon (Apr. 9) by sweeping visiting Lake Superior State in Allendale by scores of 8-0 and 15-2. GVSU, the top hitting team in all of Division II, broke the program single-season home run record with eight homers in the doubleheader, while the home Lakers hit an incredible .507 in the two games. Having won 23 of its last 25 contests, Grand Valley State now has a program-record 48 home runs this season.

After starting the 2011 season with a 2-2 record, GVSU has ran off victories in 23 of its last 25 games to push its overall record to 25-4 on the year. The team is 11-1 in the GLIAC. Lake Superior State falls to 3-18 overall and 0-14 in league play. In game two of the twinbill, Grand Valley State recorded 23 base hits, the most hits in a game since 1999. On March 28, 1999, that Laker team also notched 23 hits in a 20-3 victory over Saint Mary's. The GVSU team finished the season with a 58-6-1 record, the most wins in program history.

While this season's team equaled a hit record on Saturday, it also shattered a program record in game one of the doubleheader. All eight of Grand Valley State's runs in the opener came via the home run, as the Lakers knocked four balls out of the park. In the bottom of the first inning, left fielder Jackie Teutsch led off with an infield single, which was followed by a walk to center fielder Brittany Taylor. Two batters later, first baseman Tonya Calkins homered to left center, just to the right of the scoreboard, giving GVSU a 3-0 lead. Just a few pitches later, third baseman Miranda Cleary crushed a pitch to left field that went over the scoreboard for a solo homer, giving the Lakers back-to-back home runs and a 4-0 advantage.

The homers continued in the fourth inning, as Cleary delivered a three-run roundtripper to center field for a 7-0 Laker lead. It was Cleary's third multi-homer game of the season and the blast scored pinch runner Nellie Kosola and Calkins. Cleary's home run tied the all-time single-season record for homers in a season. The next batter was sophomore right fielder Emily Jones, who deposited her own home run behind the wall in left center field for an 8-0 lead and broke the 2007 program record for homers in a season. That 2007 team totaled 43 roundtrippers, but this year's team would add to the total in game two after hitting its 44th blast of the year.

That would be plenty of run support for starting pitcher Andrea Nicholson. The game was called after the top of the fifth inning due to the eight-run mercy rule. Nicholson earned the victory and improved to 10-1 on the season, as she allowed just three hits in four innings of work. She did not issue a walk and struck out five batters. Freshman Kayla Hurd pitched an inning of relief, not allowing a hit, while striking out one LSSU hitter.

Five different Lakers tallied two hits in the opener. Cleary was 2-for-3 with the two home runs, two runs scored, and four RBI. Jone was 2-for-3 with the solo dinger, a run, and a ribbie. Sophomores Katie Martin and Kayleigh Bertram both went 2-for-3, while Brittany Taylor was 2-for-2 with a run scored. Calkins was 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI.

In the nightcap, Lake Superior State took a 2-0 lead on a two-run single from catcher Nicole Preuss. GVSU starting pitcher Hannah Santora would get out of the inning and cruise from that point and was helped by the tremendous Laker offense. In the top of the second inning, Cleary hit another home run - this time a solo blast to right field to cut the deficit to 2-1. Kosola added a run-scoring single later in the frame to tie the score at 2-2.

Grand Valley State struck for two more runs in the third inning, with sophomore catcher Emily Holt notching an RBI single to make the score, 4-2. In the fourth, Bertram led off with a home run to left field that actually hit the front of the scoreboard after leaving the park. GVSU led at this point, 5-2. Santora was pitching well at this point, giving up just one hit combined in innings two through five.

In the top of the sixth, the Lakers provided Santora with even more runs. Bertram led off with a double to center field and Martin followed with a single to left. Calkins then blasted her second homer of the game and fifth of the season to dead center field. The three-run shot put the Lakers up by an 8-2 score. Later in the inning, Kosola picked up another RBI single, scoring Jones, who singled to left center earlier in the frame.

Leading 9-2 going into the seventh inning, GVSU put the finishing touches on the game with six more runs on six hits. Martin's RBI single scored junior Maggie Kerrigan, who led off the inning with a double to right field. Cleary and Jones both added run-scoring singles before the eighth and final homer of the day. This time it was shortstop Briauna Taylor who crushed a three-run homer to dead center field for her third roundtripper of the year and a 15-2 Laker lead.

Santora pitched 5.1 innings in the circle, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits. She walked three batters and struck out four in improving to 8-2 on the year. Martin tossed 1.2 innings of two-hit relief, not allowing a run and striking out two hitters.

Five Lakers had three or more hits in the nightcap, as Cleary led the way with a 4-for-5 performance. She hit her 15th homer of the season, scored twice, and drove in two runs. Her 15 home runs gives her the team lead in roundtrippers (Martin has 14), which is the third-highest total in GVSU history. Cleary's 15 homers this year already pushes her into eighth place all-time on the career home run list at Grand Valley State.

Briauna Taylor was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI, while Martin (two runs, one RBI), Holt (double, one RBI), and Kosola (two RBI) each went 3-for-5. Bertram went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, three runs, and an RBI. Calkins enjoyed a 2-for-4 afternoon with a home run, two runs scored, and three runs driven in. Jones was 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored.

With the eight home runs on Saturday (four in each game), Grand Valley State now has smashed 48 roundtrippers, five better than the 2007 team total and the most ever hit in a season at GVSU. Cleary (15 homers) and Martin (14) rank third and fourth on the all-time Laker single-season home run list. The team entered the week second in Division II in home runs per game behind Chadron State. Grand Valley State entered this week's games as the top team in Division II in batting average (.378) and slugging percentage (.606). Those totals have increased to a .392 batting average and a .637 slugging percentage after the last four games.

GVSU and Lake Superior State are scheduled for a noon doubleheader on Sunday (Apr. 10) in Allendale.