May 8, 2011
Game One Box Score (3-1 W)
Game Two Box Score (7-5 W)
Allendale, Mich. - It was senior day for the second-ranked Grand Valley State baseball team as they wrapped up the regular season and home schedule with a pair of games against Ohio Dominican on Sunday (May 8). After every senior in the lineup collected a hit in a 3-1 win in the opener, the Lakers defeated the Panthers 7-5 in the nightcap to move to 45-3 on the season and extend their winning streak to 25 straight games. The team is now two wins away from the single-season school-record as they prepare for the GLIAC Tournament where GVSU will be the #1 seed.
All five senior hitters got the start in game one of their last home doubleheader and they all were a big factor in the win for the Lakers. In the bottom of the second, one senior, Andrew Trepel, led off the frame with a single and moved to second before stealing third. Another senior, Dan Ponegalek, singled through the left side of the infield to plate him and give GVSU an early lead.
The Panthers tied it at one in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly before the Lakers took control of the game in the bottom half of the inning. A single by junior Cody Grice to lead off the frame and a stolen base put him on second. After a pickoff throw went into center field to put Grice at third, junior Steve Anderson singled through the left side and the ball went under the outfielder's glove, allowing Anderson to go to third and Grice to cross the plate and put GVSU up 2-1. A sacrifice fly from freshman Giancarlo Brugnoni plated Anderson to make it 3-1.
Junior Chris Whitney came on in the seventh to nail down the victory and earn his fourth save of the season. Garman got the victory for the Lakers to move to 8-1 on the season, allowing four hits and one run while striking out five.
Each senior hitter got one hit in the game as Phillips, Paul Young, Trepel and Torre Aguirre were all 1-for-3. Ponegalek was 1-for-2 with an RBI while Anderson and Brugnoni each had an RBI as well.
In game two, the Lakers continued their first inning dominance, pushing three across in the opening frame. Phillips singled to lead off the inning and Grice singled to put two on with one out. Anderson then doubled into left field after a nine-pitch at-bat that included seven straight foul balls. Phillips came in to give GVSU a 1-0 lead on the play. After junior Derrik Strzalkowski walked to load the bases, Trepel drew a bases loaded walk to make it a 2-0 game. A sacrifice fly from junior Brian Robinson then made it 3-0.
Ohio Dominican scratched out a run in the top of the second to make it 3-1. The Lakers plated three more in the bottom of the second off RBI singles from Young, Strzalkowski and Trepel to make it 6-1.
Another RBI single by Phillips in the third made it 7-1 GVSU as they took control of the game. Ohio Dominican put up single runs in the fourth and fifth to make it 7-3, then scored two more in the top of the seventh and even brought the tying run to the plate with two outs, but a ground ball to Phillips ended the game and the Lakers' record-setting regular season.
It was true freshman Bill Maple remaining undefeated in his collegiate career with the victory, moving to 7-0 on the season by throwing four innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out six. Juniors Cory Rademacher and Brett Gwaltney each threw a scoreless inning of relief while Jacob Cox finished off the game with one inning of work.
Phillips finished the game 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI to lead the way at the plate. Grice was 2-for-4 with one run while Trepel was 1-for-2 with two RBI. Young, Anderson, Strzalkowski and Robinson each had one RBI in the game. In eight games that Phillips has started at second base this season, he is 17-for-28 (.607) with 16 runs scored, five RBI and six walks.
Grand Valley State finishes the regular season 45-3, setting school and GLIAC records for wins and winning percentage in a regular season. The Lakers have pushed their school-record winning streak to 25 straight games and are one win away from matching the 2000 Savannah State baseball team for the best single-season winning percentage in Division II baseball history. That team finished the season 46-3 with a .939 winning percentage.
The Lakers will now prepare for the GLIAC Baseball Tournament to be held at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. GVSU will be the #1 seed in the tournament by virtue of their 34-1 conference record and will play at 3 p.m. on Thursday (May 12) against fourth seeded Saginaw Valley State. The Cardinals handed the Lakers their last loss, and only conference setback, all the way back on April 9th, a 6-1 triumph. The Lakers took the series from Saginaw Valley State, however, winning the next three games in the series.
