March 4, 2014

Box Score

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The seventh-ranked Grand Valley State baseball team had another breakout performance on offense, getting a nine-run fourth inning and six shutout innings from junior Evan Nietfeldt to complete a two-game sweep of Lewis, 12-5 on Tuesday (Mar. 4) at the Chain of Lakes Complex.

The Lakers are now 4-1 on the season, while Lewis falls to 4-4 overall.

GVSU will continue its Florida trip with a road game at Florida Southern on Wednesday (Mar. 5) at 6 p.m.

Mike Nadratowski kick-started the offense again, singling on a hard line drive back up the middle to lead off the bottom of the first. After stealing second and moving to third on a wild pitch, Kevin Zak drew a walk and then stole second to put two on for Giancarlo Brugnoni. Brugnoni, who has yet to be put out on the Florida trip, missed a home run by a foot, flying out to the warning track to bring in Nadratowski and give the Lakers an early 1-0 lead.

GVSU added two more runs in the bottom of the third, courtesy of Brugnoni again. Nadratowski singled and Jesse Abel walked, then with one out, Brugnoni crushed a ball off the left field wall to bring both runners in, moving the lead out to 3-0.

The flood gates opened in the bottom of the fourth, beginning with three straight singles from Stuart Eisler, Ariel Aracena-Sanchez and Mitchell Kozlowski to load the bases with nobody out. The first run came on a sacrifice fly from Nadratowski to make it 4-0, then a double steal of second and home was executed, as Aracena-Sanchez crossed the plate to make it a 5-0 game.

Abel then stepped to the dish and crushed an RBI double in to the left field gap as the lead widened to 6-0. After a Brugnoni walk, Taylor Banks brought in another run on a chopper back up the middle of the infield to give GVSU a 7-0 lead.

With two on, Jamie Potts hit a triple in to the right field gap to clear the bases, making it a 9-0 game. After Eisler hit an RBI double down the left field line, Aracena-Sanchez came back to the plate and hit his second home run in as many days, going deep to left field to cap the scoring on the day for the Lakers. GVSU led 12-0 after four innings.

The Lakers would hold Lewis at bay the rest of the way, nailing down the 12-5 victory.

Brugnoni went 1-for-1 with a run scored, a walk and three RBI and is now 4-for-4 with eight RBI in two games in Florida. Nadratowski and Eisler both went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Aracena-Sanchez finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, including his second home run of the season. Potts collected two RBI, while Abel and Banks each had one.

Nietfeldt had a dominating six innings on the mound, yielding only two hits with four strikeouts, holding Lewis off the scoreboard to move to 2-0 on the season.

Live stats for Wednesday's game at Florida Southern will be available by clicking here. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at histrocial Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla.