Detroit, Mich. - Two strong pitching performances were the storyline of the winner's bracket game in the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament on Saturday morning (May 10), but Grand Valley State came up on the short end. The Lakers fell to the tournament's host school, Wayne State, by a 3-0 final score in a game that lasted only one hour and five minutes.
With the loss, GVSU drops to 30-13 on the season and will play again on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers will either have a rematch with #13 Indianapolis or take on GLIAC foe Ashland at 4:00 p.m. Wayne State, which improves to 43-9 on the season and hasn't lost since falling to Grand Valley State on April 11 in Allendale, advances to Sunday's championship game.
The pitching matchup in the winner's bracket contest was a good one. GVSU employed junior righthander Lauren Gevaart, who tossed a complete game three-hit shutout in the Lakers' 8-0 win over #13 Indianapolis on Friday afternoon. Gevaart, a Second Team All-GLIAC selection, was up against GLIAC Pitcher of the Year Lyndsay Butler, a redshirt freshman for the Warriors.
Neither pitcher faced much trouble in the first two innings, as Gevaart needed just 11 pitches to cruise through the first inning and crafted an eight-pitch second inning. Freshmen Kelsey Dominguez (first inning) and Jenna Lenza(second) each singled off Butler, but were unable to make it any further.
Gevaart retired the first two batters of the third inning before WSU opened the scoring. Emily Cava smacked an opposite field double to left center and three pitches later, Logan White hit a two-run homer to nearly dead center field to put the Warriors ahead, 2-0. It was the first home run of the season for White, just the fifth allowed this season by Gevaart.
Wayne State, which had only nine home runs entering the game, added a third run on a solo homer from Emily Bryce in the bottom of the fourth inning, upping the score to 3-0. It was also her first home run of the season and the first time Gevaart allowed two home runs in a game this year.
After those early-inning singles, Butler settled into quite a groove. She did not allow a baserunner after Lenza's leadoff single in the second inning, retiring the final 18 batters of the game. She moved to 22-4 on the season, allowing just two hits and no walks. Butler recorded 10 groundball outs, seven flyouts, and three strikeouts.
Gevaart pitched well, only giving up the two home runs in the middle innings. The righty, now 13-3 on the season, allowed three runs on five hits. She did not walk a Warrior and struck out two, while getting 10 outs in the air. Both Gevaart and Butler threw an efficient 69 pitches in the contest. No player in the game had more than one base hit.
The Lakers are now 36-24 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including a 2-4 record against Wayne State.
