March 16, 2014
Game One Box Score (9-4 W vs Mercyhurst)
Game Two Box Score (4-3 L at Trevecca Nazarene)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The 11th-ranked Grand Valley State baseball team split a pair of nine-inning doubleheaders at the Trevecca Baseball Classic on Saturday (Mar. 15), picking up a 9-4 victory over Mercyhurst before falling to host Trevecca Nazarene, 4-3, in the nightcap.
The split moves GVSU to 9-5 overall on the season, while Mercyhurst is now 8-4 and Trevecca Nazarene is now 16-3.
The Lakers will finish off their Nashville trip with a nine-inning contest against Bloomsburg on Sunday (Mar. 16) at noon.
In the opener against Mercyhurst, GVSU took control early and never looked back, using an eight-run second inning to put away the former GLIAC foe and fellow Lakers.
The bottom of the second began with a lead-off walk from Giancarlo Brugnoni and a one-out single by Taylor Banks. Aaron Overbeck then got the scoring started with a three-run home run, his first of the year, over the left field wall.
With the bases clear, Ariel Aracena-Sanchez got the next rally started with a four-pitch walk, then stole second before Joel Schipper forced an error to put runners on the corners. After Schipper then stole second, Mike Nadratowski drove the fourth run of the game in on an RBI single to the right side of the infield. After a walk from Jesse Abel loaded the bases with one out, Brugnoni laced a two-RBI single in to right-center field to make it 6-0, and a Jamie Potts RBI single to the same spot made it 7-0. The scoring was capped with a throwing error on a force out that allowed Brugnoni to score as GVSU jumped out to the 8-0 lead.
The lead went to 9-0 in the bottom of the fifth on a Kevin Zak sacrifice fly that scored Nadratowski, who doubled earlier in the frame.
Mercyhurst put together a rally in the top of the sixth, pushing four runs across the plate with two RBI doubles and two RBI groundouts.
The Laker bullpen was able to nail down the victory, however, giving GVSU the 9-4 win.
Patrick Kelly (1-2) picked up his first victory of the season on the mound, allowing only six hits in seven innings of work. Jordan Drake and Kevin Hallberg combined to throw two innings of hitless baseball with four strikeouts.
Potts and Nadratowski each had two hits and an RBI in the game, while Nadratowski crossed the plate twice. Overbeck was 1-for-4 with a run, three RBI and a walk. Schipper was 0-for-2, but scored once and drew three walks of the 10 that GVSU had as a team.
In the nightcap, the Lakers, who have made a habit of scoring early in games, did it again, getting an RBI single from Kevin Zak that scored Jesse Abel, who had singled earlier in the first inning.
Trevecca Nazarene took the lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI triple and a sacrifice fly to take a 2-1 advantage.
The Trojans extended the lead to 3-1 on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth.
GVSU got one back in the top of the fifth, as Potts beat out a one-out single, then moved to third on a single to left-center by Chris Ripple. Schipper then hit a groundball through the left side of the infield to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Lakers tied the game back up at three in the top of the sixth with a majestic solo home run by Brugnoni with two outs, his fifth of the year.
The 3-3 score stood still all the way until the bottom of the ninth, when Trevecca Nazarene took advantage of a lead-off walk. After a single put two runners on, a single in to right-center field brought the winning run in to score to give the Trojans the 4-3 walk-off victory.
Aaron Jensen (2-2) took the tough-luck loss on the mound, needing only 100 pitches to go all eight innings, allowing seven hits with two strikeouts.
The offense was led by Potts, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Brugnoni and Abel both went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Brugnoni also had an RBI off his home run. Zak and Schipper each had one hit and one RBI in the contest.
