Box Score - Game One (W, 21-0)
Box Score - Game Two (W, 24-0)
Allendale, Mich. -
Grand Valley State put together its top doubleheader offensive performance in 37 seasons on Tuesday afternoon (Mar. 20), as the #15 Lakers defeated visiting Rochester by mercy-rule scores of 21-0 and 24-0. In the most runs scored in a doubleheader since 1975, GVSU tallied 40 hits (16 of which were extra-base hits) and recorded an 11-run inning in the sweep.
The Laker offense came into the game with a GLIAC-high batting average of .345. On Tuesday, Grand Valley State hit .580 and notched 14 doubles and a pair of triples, but amazingly did not hit a home run in either contest despite the 45 combined runs. With the victories, GVSU moved to 17-3 on the season, while Rochester, an NAIA school, fell to 1-11.
Surprisingly, the Lakers did not even come close to the school record for runs in a game. That figure was set on April 19, 1973 when Grand Valley State defeated Muskegon Community College by a 46-0 final score. GVSU also tallied 35-0 and 29-0 wins in 1978, both of which came against Hillsdale. The most runs ever scored in a doubleheader by Grand Valley State is 56, when GVSU defeated Lake Superior State on May 12, 1975 by scores of 27-0 and 29-4.
Grand Valley State's performance on Tuesday is the second-highest doubleheader run total in school history and the new program record for most runs scored in a doubleheader without allowing a run. As tremendous as the Laker offense was, GVSU's pitching was top-notch, as well. Rochester managed just three hits in the twinbill, all of which were singles.
Things started well for the Lakers right from the opening inning. Junior pitcher Hannah Santora went 1-2-3 against Rochester in the top of the first (including a pair of swinging strikeouts) and was rewarded with eight runs in the bottom of the frame. It is the third time this season that GVSU has scored exactly eight runs in the first inning of a game, also doing so against Minnesota Crookston (Mar. 9) and New Haven (Mar. 10). The big blows in the first on Tuesday were a two-run double to right center from junior catcher Emily Holt and a two-run triple to center field from sophomore shortstop Briauna Taylor.
Santora was perfect in the second and third innings, as she struck out the side in the second stanza. GVSU added two runs in the second and four more runs in the third inning, including an RBI double to right field from junior Maggie Kopas and a run-scoring triple to right field from junior outfielder Emily Jones.
The Lakers added seven runs on seven hits in the fourth, as sophomores Miranda Cleary and Alyssa Sharrard each had RBI doubles during the frame. By the end of the fourth, the score was 21-0 and freshman Sarah Wyse was in the midst of her Laker pitching debut. Wyse did a strong job in relief of Santora (who retired all nine batters she faced), giving up two hits and two walks, with three strikeouts, in two innings of relief. Santora is now 7-1 on the year.
Junior Kayleigh Bertram went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI in the opener. Also tallying multi-hit games were junior Nellie Kosola, Taylor, Cleary, Jones, Holt, and Sharrard - all six players had two hits apiece. Cleary and Holt both drove in three runs, while Taylor, junior Katie Martin, and Jones also had two RBI each. Kosola joined Bertram by scoring three runs, while Kopas, Cleary, senior Becky Gill, and Jones all scored twice.
Regardless of what the final score in game two was going to be, sophomore Kayla Hurd made sure the Lakers did not have to put up many runs. She was nearly perfect in five innings of work, allowing just a one-out single in the first inning for the only hit (and baserunner) for Rochester in game two. Hurd tallied a career-high 10 strikeouts by fanning all three batters in the second inning and two batters apiece in the third, fourth, and fifth frames. She moves to 2-0 on the year with the one-hit shutout.
GVSU made sure Hurd received as much run support as she wanted in the nightcap by tallying six runs in both the first and second innings and 11 runs in the third. The Lakers closed out the scoring with a run in the fourth inning.
In the six-run first inning, senior catcher Carli Raisutis notched a two-run double to left field and Jones smacked a single to center field to bring in two more runs. Kosola's two-run double to left field in the second inning made the score 11-0 and was quickly followed by Taylor's RBi single to center field for the final run of that inning.
The 11-run third inning saw GVSU tally seven hits, but Rochester did commit five errors. Grand Valley State's big hit in that frame was a three-run double to center field for junior KC Christopher, who tallied her first hit (also a double) as a Laker in the opening game. Christopher's bases-clearing double was nearly a grand slam, as it hit off the fence in center field. That made the score 22-0 and GVSU would add another run in the third and one in the fourth to finish out a wild day of offense. The 11 runs scored in the third inning are the most runs scored in one inning since at least the 2000 season.
Kopas notched a career-best performance, going 4-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBI. Taylor was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Kosola went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs, and two ribbies. Bertram notched another multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Martin was 1-for-2, but crossed home plate four times, while sophomore Tonya Calkins managed to not have an official at-bat (due to two walks) and still scored twice. Raisutis was 1-for-3 with a double, three RBI and three runs, while Christopher also had three RBi. Jones drove in a pair of runs and junior Jackie Teutsch scored twice.
GVSU opens up conference play this weekend with three road doubleheaders. First, the Lakers take on Tiffin on Friday (Mar. 23) in Ohio, then travel back to Michigan to face Wayne State on Saturday (Mar. 24). The Lakers close out the weekend in Ohio with a twinbill at Findlay on Sunday (Mar. 25).
