March 6, 2012

Box Score vs. Wilmington (W, 13-6)

Box Score vs. Bemidji State (W, 7-0)

Clermont, Fla. - #24 Grand Valley State's potent offense is getting back on track, as the Lakers showed their explosive arsenal on Tuesday afternoon (Mar. 6). GVSU hit .453 as a team in a pair of seven-run victories, as the Lakers topped Wilmington (13-6) and shut out Bemidji State (7-0) for its third consecutive sweep to start the year.

After three of the team's first four wins on Sunday and Monday came by three runs or less, Grand Valley State used a mercy rule to defeat Urbana by an 8-0 final in five innings. The Lakers continued hitting the ball all over the park on Tuesday, combining 20 runs on 29 hits in the two games. GVSU hit four doubles, a triple, and two homers in the wins to move to a perfect 6-0 on the year.

The opening inning against Wilmington saw a bunch of offensive firepower - for both teams. After a leadoff groundout, the Quakers notched five consecutive base hits: a double, single, single, RBI single, and a two-run single. After a sacrifice fly was the second out, Wilmington led 4-0 before the Lakers could get to their first at-bat.

GVSU, however, answered appropriately in its half of the first frame. Junior Nellie Kosola singled to left field, which was followed by an infield single from sophomore Briauna Taylor. After a walk to junior Katie Martin, the bases were loaded for sophomore Miranda Cleary. She grounded out to second base, but Kosola came in to cut the deficit to 4-1. Following was sophomore Tonya Calkins, whose two-run single up the middle scored Taylor and Martin.

Junior Kayleigh Bertram then singled to right field, pushing Calkins to second base. Two batters later, senior Carli Raisutis hit a sharp single to left field. Wilmington's left fielder misplayed the ball, as it went all the way to the wall. KC Christopher(pinch-running for Calkins) easily scored and Bertram raced all the way around from first base to put the Lakers back on top, 5-4, after a frantic first inning. Each team had five base hits in the opening stanza.

In the top of the second inning, senior Andrea Nicholsoncame out and fired a 1-2-3 inning after Wilmington's four-run first frame. The Lakers notched two more runs in the bottom of the inning, as Calkins ripped a two-run double to left field scored Taylor (reached on a fielder's choice) and Martin (reached on an error). GVSU went into the third inning with a 7-4 lead.

After Wilmington made it a 7-5 game with a run in the third, the Lakers responded with a run after Kosola's RBI single up the middle scored Raisutis, who notched a one-out double to left field. Raisutis came up in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs and she tagged another double - this time to center field - which scored Cleary (single), Bertram (single), and junior Emily Jones(reached on a fielder's choice). The three-run two-bagger from Raisutis put GVSU ahead by an 11-5 mark.

The score was 11-6 in the bottom of the fifth when Kosola and Taylor tallied back-to-back singles and Martin followed with a two-run double to left center field, scoring both runners and giving the Lakers the final runs of the game.

It was tough to find the team's top offensive individual, as seven GVSU players recorded hits and eight players scored a run. Kosola paced the offense from the top of the lineup, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Raisutis was 3-for-4 with three RBI, two doubles, and a run. Calkins (double, four RBI), Taylor (three runs), and Bertram (two runs) all went 2-for-4. Martin was 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs, and a pair of ribbies.

Though Nicholson struggled, she benefited from the Laker offense in moving to 3-0 on the year. She tossed all seven innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits, while walking one batter and fanning five hitters.

In the nightcap against Bemidji State, junior pitcher Hannah Santorawas outstanding in the circle. The righty allowed just two base hits (one in the first inning, one in the seventh frame) and did not permit a BSU runner to even reach second base. In moving to 2-0, she walked one batter and struck out six in a tremendous performance.

Early on, the Laker offense came from junior Maggie Kopas. Starting at third base, Kopas smashed a two-run homer to right center field in the bottom of the second inning to put GVSU ahead, 2-0. It was Kopas' second collegiate homer and first since her freshman season in 2010. The opposite-field blast scored Bertram, who led off with a single up the middle.

Grand Valley State would remain quiet until the bottom of the fifth. After left fielder Jackie Teutsch reached led off with a bunt single, Kosola raced to first an infield single. That set the table for Taylor, who crushed a three-run homer to left center field for her second blast of the season. GVSU led 5-0 at this point. Martin and Calkins followed with consecutive singles, as Martin then scored on Bertram's sacrifice fly one batter later. An RBI single from junior catcher Emily Holt pushed senior Maggie Kerrigan(pinch-running for Calkins) across home plate for a 7-0 Laker advantage.

Seven runs was plenty of insurance for Santora, as she threw 1-2-3 innings in the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth frames. That perfect streak was en route to retiring 17 consecutive batters from the final out of the first inning to the first out of the seventh. One of the two hits Santora gave up was only on a technicality; the ground ball between first and second base off the bat of Megan Beard hit Hannah Benzie in the leg as she attempted to run to second. Benzie was ruled out, but Beard is awarded with a single on the play. Ironically, in the seventh inning, Beard notched a legitimate single, smacking a Santora offering back up the middle for BSU's other hit.

Taylor was a double shy of the cycle, as she went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. She laced a one-out triple in the first inning, the three-run homer in the fifth, and a single in the sixth. Kopas (home run, two RBI, one run), Kosola (run), and Teutsch (run) all went 2-for-3 in the game, while Martin was 2-for-4 with a run scored.

The Lakers are off on Wednesday and come back on Thursday (Mar. 8) against Wayne State at 9:00 a.m. and versus Northern State at 1:00 p.m.