May 16, 2011

Box Score | Post Game Interview

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State's top-ranked offense has been terrific this season, but rarely did the Lakers look as strong as they did in Monday's 13-1 victory over Lewis in the Midwest Regional 1 Tournament championship game. GVSU, which entered the tournament as the top team in Division II in batting average and slugging percentage, scored nine first-inning runs and then cruised to the victory. The Lakers advance to the Midwest Super Regional at Saginaw Valley State this weekend (May 20-21) for a best-of-three series against the Cardinals.

Monday's (May 16) championship game had originally been scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but inclement weather forced a postponement. GVSU wasted little time by taking a 9-0 lead after its first at-bat and adding four more runs in the third inning to end the game by mercy rule in the fifth inning. The Lakers move to 41-14 on the season, while the team's 41 victories are the seventh-most in a single season in team history. Lewis' season ends with the Flyers posting a 36-14 record.

Lewis appeared to be in good shape to start the game, as the Flyers first two hitters reached base on walks. LU's Michelle Vucsko came up, however, and promptly lined into a big double play, as second baseman Kayleigh Bertram caught the liner and fired to shortstop Briauna Taylor, who was covering at second base for the out. After that twin killing, GVSU righthander Andrea Nicholson settled down and struck out the Flyers' clean-up hitter, Stephanie Harmon, to end the inning. It was then that the Lakers would go to work.

To start the nine-run first inning, left fielder Brittany Taylor lined a triple down the right field line that rolled into the corner, allowing Taylor to cruise into third base. Two batters later, sophomore Katie Martin was intentionally walked, putting runners on the corners with one out. Clean-up hitter Emily Jones followed Taylor's lead and also went down the right field line with an RBI double and putting two runners in scoring position. Junior catcher Carli Raisutis then reached a fielding error by the Lewis shortstop, pushing a second run across the board for a 2-0 lead.

GLIAC Freshman of the Year Miranda Cleary followed with an RBI single through the left side, scoring Jones. GVSU then loaded the bases on a single up the middle from freshman Tonya Calkins, which was followed by a bases loaded walk from sophomore Kayleigh Bertram. At this point, the Lakers led 4-0. Center fielder Nellie Kosola slapped a single up the middle that scored GVSU's fifth run, kept the bases loaded, and moved the inning back to the top of the lineup.

Brittany Taylor came up for her second at-bat (after tripling earlier in the frame) and made this time at the plate even more productive. Taylor hit a towering shot to dead center field that easily cleared the fence for a grand slam and pushed GVSU to an incredible 9-0 first-inning lead. It was the Lakers' third grand slam of the season, as Cleary and Raisutis also hit grand slams earlier in the season. The final totals for the inning were nine runs on six hits with two walks and a Flyer error.

Nicholson came out in the second inning and went 1-2-3 to make the nine-run first inning even more effective. Lewis tallied a pair of hits to lead off the third, but Nicholson retired the next three batters and got out of the jam. Grand Valley State added four more runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning to tally at least 10 runs for the 16th time this year. Not surprisingly, GVSU is 16-0 when scoring 10 or more runs.

Bertram notched a one-out walk and moved to second base with two outs. Brittany Taylor also walked and the bases became loaded when Briauna Taylor singled through the left side of the infield. Martin cleared the bases with a three-run double that hit off the upper half of the fence in left center field and moved the score to 12-0. The double was Martin's 18th of the season (one shy of Erin Burgess' single-season record of 19 in 1999) and gives the slugger 65 RBI this year (one shy of tying Kim Biskup's 66 RBI in 2000, the second-most in a season ever at GVSU). Martin then scored on a single to left center from Jones to finish off the Lakers' scoring in this game and give the team exactly 400 runs this season.

Lewis added a run in the fourth inning off Nicholson, who tossed 3.1 innings of four-hit ball, allowing one run, walking three, and striking out three. The win puts her record to 20-6 this season. Sophomore Hannah Santora pitched 1.2 innings of no-hit relief, giving up one walk and striking out a Flyer.

Eight of the nine Laker starters notched a base hit, as Brittany Taylor and Jones each recorded two hits. Taylor was 2-for-2 with a triple, the grand slam, three runs scored, and four RBI, while Jones was 2-for-3 with a run and two ribbies. Martin went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three batters, while Bertram (the only Laker starter without a hit) was officially 0-for-0 with two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored.

With the 3-0 weekend, GVSU improves to 27-16 all-time in NCAA postseason play in nine trips to the national tournament. The Lakers have previously been to four regional championship games (2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007), advancing to the Division II World Series for the first - and only - time in school history in 2002. That season, GVSU finished as the national runner-up for its highest-ever finish.