Feb. 23, 2014

Box Score

Rosemont, Ill. - For the second day in a row, the #4 Grand Valley State softball team split a pair of indoor games at the Lewis Dome Tournament in Rosemont, Ill. The Lakers dropped the opening game on Sunday (Feb. 23) to Upper Iowa, 4-2, before notching a mercy rule victory over Wisconsin-Parkside, 9-0.

In the opener against Upper Iowa, GVSU took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Freshman Jenna Lenza reached base and was driven in on a two-run homerun from senior shortstop Briauna Taylor. It was the 23rd career homer for Briauna Taylor, the fifth-most in Laker history. Upper Iowa answered with a run in the bottom of the first and took a 4-2 lead with a three-run sixth inning.

With two outs in the top of the seventh, Grand Valley State loaded the bases on a single from senior Tonya Calkins, a walk by freshman Kelsey Dominguez, and a single from Lenza. Upper Iowa got out of the bases loaded, two-out jam to secure the win. Freshman Ellie Balbach pitched into the sixth inning and suffered the loss, while junior Lauren Gevaart relieved Balbach in the sixth.

Against Wisconsin-Parkside, the Laker bats came alive. Lenza led off and reached base and was driven home on a ground-rule double from Briauna Taylor. The 1-0 lead turned to 6-0 in the second stanza. Brittany Taylor started things with a walk, Lenza singled, and Briauna Taylor followed with a single to load the bases for senior Miranda Cleary. The third baseman, who hit a game-winning homer against Lewis on Saturday, crushed a grand slam to right center field. Cleary's blast was her 39th career roundtripper, the third-highest total in GVSU history.

The Laker lead grew to 9-0 when Cleary delivered a two-run single, which scored Lenza (single) and Dominguez (walk) in the top of the fifth inning. Sophomore pitcher Sara Andrasik benefited from the run support, tossing her second consecutive two-hitter. Andrasik moves to 2-0 on the year, striking out four batters in the five-inning victory.

GVSU (2-2 overall) will play its first outdoor games of the 2014 season on Mar. 2-8 when the Lakers travel to Clemont, Fla. for the NTC Spring Games. Grand Valley State will play a dozen games during the weeklong trip, beginning with matchups against Georgian Court and Lock Haven on Mar. 2.