March 7, 2013
Box Score
CLERMONT, Fla. - The Grand Valley State softball team picked up two more wins on its spring break trip with a 4-1 win against West Chester before grabbing a 7-3 victory against in-region rival Winona State on Thursday at the NTC Softball Complex.
In the opening game against West Chester, the Lakers wasted little time getting on the board as the third batter of the day, senior Katie Martin, sailed a home run over the scoreboard in left field with classmate Nellie Kosola on board for a 2-0 lead.
Martin followed that performance in the third inning with another two-run jack, this time over the left center fence, to give GVSU all the offense it would need to take the game. Martin now has six career games with two home runs.
Freshman Sara Andrasik started in the circle, striking out eight, while giving up just two hits, three walks and the lone run from the Golden Rams. Kate Skokowski started for West Chester, going 4.1 innings with four hits, four runs and five strike outs, while Devon Utterback finished out the game with three hits, one walk and one strike out in 2.2 innings of work.
Martin was 3-for-4 in the opening game, while Kosola went 2-for-3 and earned a walk.
Game two opened with Kosola reaching second on a throwing error. On Brittany Taylor's sacrifice bunt, the Warrior pitcher rushed her throw, sending it past the first baseman and allowing Kosola to score and Taylor to move to third. Martin then hit a single to left field, but was able to advance as the Warriors could not get the ball out of left field, which also allowed Taylor to score for a two-run, three-error first inning in the Lakers' favor.
GVSU added three more runs in the second inning. With senior Emily Holt issued a walk with just one out, a throwing error on a bunt allowed Maggie Kopas to stay on base and Holt to move to third. Back-to-back errors pushed one across for the Lakers before Martin singled to left field to bring in Kopas. Senior Emily Jones scored Kosola from third to make it a 5-0 game.
Jones earned her second RBI of the day on a single to center field in the fourth to score Taylor who had a hit through the left side to lead off the inning.
Winona State struck in the sixth when a double followed by a single allowed a run across the plate, but pitcher Hannah Santora forced a double play to end the inning.
The Lakers added to their lead when freshman Taylor Fris hit a double to right center to score Martin. Martin reached on a single up the middle for her sixth hit of the day.
The Warriors added two more runs in the seventh, but with runners on the Lakers were able to buckle down to take the game.
Santora tossed her fourth win of the season, surrendering 11 hits, three runs and one walk, while striking out four in a complete game. For Winona, Britt Stewart gave up seven hits, seven runs, two walks with two strikeouts.
GVSU now readies itself for games against Mary (1 p.m.) and Cedarville (5 p.m. on Friday.
