March 9, 2012
Box Score
Winter Haven, Fla. - The #5 Grand Valley State baseball team is hitting .400 on the spring break trip and they continued that trend on Friday (Mar. 9), racking up 15 hits en route to a 9-3 victory. A trio of Lakers had three hits each while senior Steve Anderson went deep for the second time in as many days.
The GVSU hitters made their presence known early in the game, scoring a run in each of the game's first three innings. In the first, freshman Mike Nadratowski started things off with a single and was moved to second by a sacrifice bunt. Junior Stephen Claypool then did what is expected, driving Nadratowski in with a single of his own to make it a 1-0 game.
In the second inning, freshman Kevin Zak hit a one-out single to left field and Nadratowski notched his second hit of the day to put two on. This time with Rudenga at the plate, he got to swing away and it resulted in a single to left field that scored Zak to make it 2-0.
The third inning looked to be an easy one for the Pumas as they recorded two outs on two pitches to begin the frame but senior Derrik Strzalkowski then singled to center field to start the rally. Senior Jared Cowan kept it going, crushing a double over the left fielder's head to bring Strzalkowski all the way around to score, making it a 3-0 game.
The score stayed the same until the Lakers ran in to trouble in the form of a three run sixth inning for the Pumas. A one-out single was the first of five straight hits for St. Joseph's that brought in three runs to tie the game going to the bottom of the sixth.
Contrary to yesterday's game where the bottom of the sixth proved to be the backbreaker for the Lakers, GVSU used that particular spot in the game on this day to put the game away. After Junior Chris Ripple reached on a high chopper to third, he was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and Rudenga ripped a single to third. After a wild pitch moved both runners over, a Claypool sacrifice fly in shallow center field brought Ripple in to make it 4-3. Preseason All-American Anderson then hit his second home run in as many days, an intimidating long ball that easily cleared the left-center field fence for a two-run bomb to make it 6-3.
Things snowballed from there for the Pumas. In the bottom of the seventh, Cowan drew a one-out walk and another high chopper to third by Ripple put two men on with two out. The St. Joseph's pitcher then attempted a pick-off at second base, but nobody was covering, allowing the ball to roll in to center field and both runners to move up. Nadratowski then laid down a perfect bunt with the infield playing back and beat out the throw to first, which sailed in to the right field corner, allowing both runs to score and Nadratowski to end up on third. Rudenga then singled to center field, his third hit of the game, to make it a 9-3 game.
Nadratowski finished the game 3-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a walk. Rudenga was 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Strzalkowski, who now has four straight games of at least two hits and is hitting .545 on the spring trip, went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Anderson was 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI, courtesy of his second home run of the season.
Senior Kyle Schepel is moving up the record books following the victory to move him to 3-0 on the season. Schepel threw seven innings, allowing seven hits and three runs while striking out five. It's the 25th win of his career, placing him one behind the GVSU all-time record for victories. His five strikeouts also give him 185 in his career, only four away from tying the GVSU career record.
Senior Brett Gwaltney and junior Brad Zambron each threw a perfect inning of relief.
St. Joseph's starter Eric Meyerchick (0-2) took the loss, allowing 13 hits in six innings of work. Angelo Burrage, Eric Mason and Joe Sturino each had one hit and one RBI in the game for the Pumas.
With the victory, GVSU moves to 6-3 on the season while St. Joseph's falls to 1-11.
The Lakers will play the last game of the spring break trip on Saturday (Mar. 10) at noon when they take on Rollins College for a true away game in Winter Park, Fla. Live stats and chat will all be available for the game via the links on the GVSU baseball schedule page.
