May 19, 2012

Box Score

YPSILANTI, Mich. - The ninth-ranked Grand Valley State baseball team saw its season come to an end on Saturday (May 19) night at Oestrike Stadium. The Lakers dropped a 10-5 decision to Rockhurst in an elimination game, ending the 2012 season with a 43-16 record and their 11th straight NCAA Division II postseason appearance.

The Lakers got on the board early in the game, putting the first two batters of the game on via a walk and a hit by pitch. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners in to scoring position, a sacrifice fly to right field by senior Steve Anderson (Northville, Mich.) brought home freshman Mike Nadratowski (Canton, Mich./Plymouth) for the first run of the game, while senior Brian Robinson (Troy, Mich.) moved to third on the play. Robinson found his way home when sophomore Giancarlo Brugnoni (Grosse Pointe, Mich./De La Salle) drilled a double off the wall in left field to make it a 2-0 game.

Rockhurst responded in the bottom of the first, leading off with a double down the left field line. A ground ball back to the pitcher wound up erasing the runner at second as he got caught in a rundown between second and third and it appeared GVSU would get out of trouble. A ground out deep in the hole on the right side of the infield moved the runner from first to second and then an RBI single that bounced off the glove of a diving GVSU infielder brought home the first Hawk run of the game to make it 2-1. An RBI single in to center field followed to tie the game at two after one inning of play.

GVSU loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the third but a ground out to the third baseman who came home with it got the first out. Freshman Jamie Potts (Ravenna, Mich./Muskegon Oakridge) then hit a ground ball to short but beat out the double play turn, allowing Anderson to score from third and give the Lakers a 3-2 lead.

The Hawks were able to take the lead back with a pair in the bottom of the fourth. With a runner on second with two out, a chopper through the right side of the infield scored the runner and the ball got past the outfielder, allowing the batter to reach second. That was followed by another single in to right field that made it a 4-3 game in Rockhurst's favor.

The Lakers answered back to tie the game at four in the top of the fifth with an RBI ground out from junior Chris Rudenga (South Holland, Ill./Illiana Christian) that scored Brugnoni, who had reached on a single to lead off the inning.

Rockhurst took the lead back yet again in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out RBI single in to center field with runners on first and second, putting the Hawks up 5-4 after five innings.

The Hawks extended their lead with another two-out RBI single in to center in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 6-4 game.

Rockhurst kept the pressure on in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out in part to two GVSU errors on attempted sacrifice bunts. A bases-loaded walk then made it a 7-4 game and the Hawks broke things open from there, ending the inning with two hits and four runs in the frame to take a commanding 10-4 lead after an inning in which the Lakers committed four errors.

GVSU was unable to scratch all the way back, scoring once on an RBI double from Potts in the top of the ninth to make it a 10-5 game.

Anderson, in his final game as a Laker, went 1-for-3 with a run scored, RBI and a walk. Zak went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, Brugnoni finished 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and a double, while Rudenga went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Senior Jared Cowan (Davison, Mich.) went 1-for-4 in the contest and Potts finished 1-for-5 with two RBI and a double.

Sophomore Cody Westerhuis (Allendale, Mich.) was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-2 on the year, allowing four hits and two runs in two innings of relief with four strikeouts. Senior starter Cory Baker (Byron Center, Mich./North Dakota) worked four innings, striking out three in the contest. Seniors Chris Whitney (Macomb, Mich./Kellogg C.C.) and Brett Gwaltney (Rochester, Minn./Rochester C.C.) combined for a shutout inning of relief.

Head coach Steve Lyon, who announced his retirement upon the completion of the season, ends his illustrious 14-year career at Grand Valley State with a record of 552-205-2 (.729), five NCAA Division II College World Series appearances, five NCAA Division II Midwest Regional championships, 11 NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances and two Division II FieldTurf National Coach of the Year awards. The Lakers won 40 games or more seven times over his career and finished as the national runner-up in 2004.

The GVSU careers of 13 seniors came to an end with the defeat as Zach Laupp (Mattawan, Mich.), Blake Batteast (South Bend, Ind./Glen Oaks C.C.), Kyle Schepel (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian), Derrik Strzalkowski (London, Ont./Kellogg C.C.), Cory Rademacher (DeWitt, Mich.), Ryan Garman (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Johnson County C.C.), Jacob Cox (Dowagiac, Mich./Lake Michigan College), Robinson, Anderson, Cowan, Baker, Whitney and Gwaltney all finished their Laker careers.

Rockhurst, now 35-18, moves on to face Indianapolis on Sunday (May 20) for the regional title.