May 9, 2012
Box Score
Chillicothe, Ohio - The ninth-ranked Grand Valley State baseball team was shut down for the first half of their opening game against Ashland, but a late-inning flurry lifted GVSU to a win over Ashland, 5-1.
In a sign of things to come, Ashland loaded the bases in the top of the first inning but were unable to push a run across. The Lakers did much of the same in the bottom half of the frame, drawing two walks in the inning and putting two runners in scoring position before being thwarted.
In the top of the second, the Eagles were able to strike first, leading off the frame with three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out. A five-pitch walk allowed Ashland to take a 1-0 lead, still with the bases loaded and nobody out. After a meeting at the mound, senior starter Kyle Schepel (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian) was able to induce a 1-2-3 double play to help himself get out of the inning with minimal damage.
Ashland starter Zach Botjer was sitting down the Lakers with ease after the first, retiring 11 in a row at one point and holding GVSU hitless through four innings.
In the top of the fifth, Ashland led off the inning with a triple to left field and then drew a walk to put runners on the corners with nobody out before GVSU came up with the defensive play of the game. A foul ball down the right field foul line saw sophomore Giancarlo Brugnoni (Grosse Pointe, Mich./De La Salle) sprinting towards the foul territory fence and make an over the shoulder catch. The runner from third attempted to tag up with Brugnoni nearly halfway in to the outfield, but Brugnoni threw home and senior Jared Cowan (Davison, Mich.) was able to block the plate and finish the double play.
Finally, in the bottom of the fifth, Cowan was able to use the momentum from the Lakers' defensive play to drive a double in to the right field gap for the first hit of the game for the Lakers. After moving to third on a wild pitch, freshman Jamie Potts (Muskegon, Mich./Oakridge) tied the game up with a line drive single back up the middle of the box that scored Cowan to tie the game at one.
GVSU didn't sit quiet for long, with the biggest lift of the game coming in the bottom of the seventh. Brugnoni led off the frame with an opposite field home run, giving the Lakers a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the eighth, Ashland was again able to threaten, loading the bases with two out against junior closer Brad Zambron (Waterford, Mich./Brother Rice), but Zambron was able to induce a ground ball to get out of the inning.
Already leading 2-1, the Lakers put up some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. RBI singles from senior Steve Anderson (Northville, Mich.), Cowan and Potts gave GVSU some breathing room, going up 5-1 and closing the door in the top of the ninth.
After being held without a hit for four innings, GVSU was able to muster 10 hits over the final four innings of play, matching Ashland's total.
Schepel, after a tough start which saw him with nearly 60 pitches through three innings, was able to muster through six innings of work on 99 pitches, allowing seven hits, one earned run and three walks with three strikeouts.
Senior Cory Rademacher (DeWitt, Mich.) came up clutch on the mound for GVSU, working 1.2 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts to earn the victory and move to 3-0 on the year. Zambron's work allowed him to pick up his 15th save of the year.
Potts finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Cowan went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, including his 15th double of the season. Brugnoni's home run, his 13th on the year, was his only hit.
Botjer (8-5) took the loss for Ashland, working 7.2 innings and allowing nine hits and five earned runs with four strikeouts. The Eagle offense was led by Kyle Vozar, who went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
The Lakers advance on in the winner's bracket and will take on Tiffin at 2 p.m. on Thursday (May 10), a team that GVSU swept this season in four games, including big performances from Brugnoni. No Laker is happier to see the Dragons than Brugnoni, who tied an NCAA Division II record with four home runs in four straight at-bats this season. For his career, Brugnoni is 12-for-28 with 7 HR, 17 RBI and a 1.286 slugging percentage against the Dragons in nine games.
Tiffin lost its opening round game in heart-breaking fashion, 3-2, to Lake Erie due to a dropped fly ball in the bottom of the ninth inning that allowed two runs to score.
