Box Score - Game One (W, 4-0)
Box Score - Game Two (L, 14-11)
Midland, Mich. -
A five-hit shutout for #14 Grand Valley State was followed up by a combined 25 runs in game two of a GLIAC doubleheader at Northwood on Tuesday (Apr. 10). The Lakers won game one by a 4-0 score before falling in a 14-11 offensive battle in which the teams combined to hit six home runs.
GVSU received a strong pitching performance in game one from senior Andrea Nicholson and she was backed by a four-run second inning to open the doubleheader with a win. It was the first time the Lakers won the opening game of a twinbill since Apr. 1 against Ferris State. Game two saw four different Grand Valley State players hit home runs, but ultimately the Northwood offense used seven extra-base hits to earn the split.
After the doubleheader, the Lakers are 31-9 overall and 14-6 in conference play. Northwood is now 13-19 on the year, but the Timberwolves are at .500 in league play at 10-10.
To win game one, GVSU notched all the runs it would need in the top of the second inning. After sophomore Tonya Calkins started the stanza with a single through the left side, classmate Miranda Cleary blasted a two-run home run to center field for a 2-0 Laker lead. The next two batters, seniors Carli Raisutis and Maggie Kerrigan, each singled and were pushed to third base on a sacrifice bunt from junior Nellie Kosola.
Two batters later, with the bases loaded, junior Emily Jones worked the count full and then delivered a two-run single to left field, scoring Raisutis and Kerrigan. Jones' clutch two-out base hit put the score at 4-0 and gave Nicholson plenty of run support, as she rolled through the Northwood lineup.
Nicholson recorded nine consecutive outs over the second, third, and fourth innings, earning four strikeouts by that time. In the bottom of the fifth, still nursing the 4-0 lead, she allowed a leadoff double to Natalie Lampman. The next batter, Marisa Borkowski, hit a lined shot to second baseman Kayleigh Bertram, who snagged the liner and fired to second base, where shortstop Briauna Taylor was waiting for a big 4-6 double play.
After the twin killing, Nicholson retired the next five batters and finished off the Timberwolves in the bottom of the seventh after NU put two runners in scoring position. It was Nicholson's first complete game shutout of the year, lowering her ERA to 1.27. The win puts her at 13-6 on the season, after allowing just five hits and not walking a batter. Nicholson fanned five Timberwolves in the victory.
Raisutis led the offensive attack by going 3-for-4 and scoring a run. Kerrigan, Calkins, and Jones each had two base hits for the Lakers, who totaled 12 hits as a team. Jones and Cleary split GVSU's four RBI.
Each team scored a pair of runs in the first inning of game two. Northwood's Rachel Hammer set the tone for the whole game by leading off the contest with a solo homer, her first of the season. The Lakers answered with a two-run blast from junior Katie Martin in the bottom half of the stanza to knot the score at 2-2.
Northwood added three more runs in the third inning off of GVSU's Hannah Santora, the reigning GLIAC Pitcher of the Week. It was 6-2 in the fourth inning when the Lakers put a pair of runners on base - Jones on a double and Cleary, who walked with two outs. Bertram then smashed a three-run homer to left field to draw the team within a run at 6-5.
The score did not last long, as Hammer would again dial long distance in the fifth inning - this time with a three-run roundtripper to left center field, putting the Timberwolves ahead 9-5. Grand Valley State would again respond in the bottom half, as Kerrigan was hit by a pitch and Kosola walked. Taylor followed with a three-run homer to left center field, her ninth of the season, to make the score 9-8.
Later in the same inning, even after GVSU hit into a double play, Calkins walked with two outs, bringing Cleary back to the plate. The third-highest home run hitter in school history, Cleary put the Lakers ahead for the first time in the game with a two-run dinger. She again hit this homer to center field, giving her two home runs on the same day for the third time this season.
Leading 10-9, Laker head coach Doug Woods was on the brink of his 800th career victory. Northwood, however, had other thoughts as the Timberwolves tallied five more runs on five hits in the sixth inning, re-gaining a 14-10 advantage.
Grand Valley State managed to tack on a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Raisutis reached on an infield single with the bases loaded and two outs. The Lakers actually had the winning run at the plate after Raisutis' base hit, but Northwood got the final out of the game to earn a split and pick up its first win of the season over GVSU. The 25 combined runs were the most scored in a Grand Valley State game this season.
Jones led the way by going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Martin went 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs, and a pair of RBI, while Bertram was 2-for-4 with a home run and three ribbies. Cleary homered, scored twice, and drove in two runs, as Taylor was 1-for-4 with her roundtripper, two runs scored, and three runs driven in.
Nicholson, the Lakers' third pitcher of game two, took the loss. She allowed five runs (three earned) in two innings. Santora struggled in 3.1 innings of work, allowing six runs, five hits, and five walks.
Grand Valley State returns to Allendale this weekend for its final three home games of the regular season. The Lakers host Ohio Dominican on Friday (Apr. 13), Ashland on Saturday (Apr. 14), and Lake Erie on Sunday (Apr. 15).
