Findlay, Ohio - Despite holding a 2-0 lead for the early portion of the game, Grand Valley State was unable to close out Wayne State in the winner's bracket of the GLIAC Tournament on Saturday afternoon (May 3), falling to the Warriors, 3-2. WSU scored a run in the fifth inning and two runs in the seventh, including a walk-off bloop single for the win.
The game was a match-up of the two GLIAC teams that went 2-0 during Friday's opening round. Wayne State (40-9) heads to the tournament championship game, which will be held on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Grand Valley State (29-11) will play Ohio Dominican at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, which will be the third game of the day for ODU. It will be an elimination game, as the loser goes home, and the winner moves on to Sunday's championship.
Two of the top pitchers in the league - GVSU's Lauren Gevaart and WSU's Lyndsay Butler - showed why on Saturday. The contest saw just nine combined hits, while the two hurlers were near the top of their games.
Grand Valley State cracked the scoreboard first, putting up a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Freshman Kelsey Dominguez earned a one-out walk, which was quickly followed by a double to right center from senior Briauna Taylor.
Next up was senior Miranda Cleary, who hit a sharp grounder to the Warrior second baseman. She fired home, but the ball was off target, allowing Dominguez to score. The ball got away from the Wayne State catcher and Taylor rounded third base and never hesitated, crossing the plate and giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead.
Gevaart, an All-GLIAC Second Team choice, set down the Warriors in order in the first inning and settled into a nice groove. She retired seven straight betters before Devin Hentschel connected for a solo homer - the first of the freshman's career - to make the score 2-1 in the fifth inning.
Butler, the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year as a redshirt freshman, was just as good. She allowed just one hit in the first, fourth, sixth, and seventh innings.
Wayne State put its first two batters on base in the bottom of the seventh inning on a double from Julie Ingratta and a Jade McGarr single. Two batters later, Hentschel fouled out to right field, as freshman Janae Langs made a nice running catch before running into the fence. Ingratta was able to score and tie the game, while McGarr moved to second base with two outs. Gabby Williams then followed with a bloop single to right center field, bringing in McGarr for the winning run.
Gevaart deserved a batter fate, as she falls to 12-2 on the year. She gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits in 6.2 innings pitched. Gevaart walked two and struck out three. Butler (now 20-4) allowed four hits and two runs, while striking out nine batters.
Briauna Taylor was the lone player in the game with more than one hit, as the senior shortstop was 2-for-3 with a double and run scored. Cleary and Langs had the other two base hits for GVSU.
