Detroit, Mich. - In a rematch of Friday's opening round game at the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament, Grand Valley State fell by a 7-3 score to #13 Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon (May 10). The loss eliminated GVSU from the tournament and ended the team's season with a 30-14 overall record.
The teams met for the second time in as many days after each squad played earlier on Saturday. In the winner's bracket game at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, GVSU fell by a 3-0 score to Wayne State. Indianapolis scored a pair of late runs to end Ashland's season by a 2-1 final, in a game that ended less than an hour before the rematch between the Lakers and Greyhounds.
Wayne State and Indianapolis (44-12) will meet in the championship game on Sunday (May 11) at noon. The Greyhounds need to beat WSU twice in order to win the regional title.
Friday's first meeting between the teams went in GVSU's favor, as the Lakers captured an 8-0 victory over UIndy. Grand Valley State took a 4-0 lead after three innings and added four late runs for the final advantage. Junior Lauren Gevaart was terrific, allowing just three hits (all singles, two of which were bunts) in the complete game win, which included nine strikeouts.
On Saturday, Indianapolis put runners on first and second base in its first at-bat, bringing cleanup hitter Taylor Russell to the plate. On the first pitch from Gevaart, Russell hit a sharp liner to Tonya Calkins, who made the catch and stepped on first base for the unassisted, inning-ending double play.
Senior Brittany Taylor led off the home half of the first inning with a walk. She moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout. With two outs, senior Miranda Cleary hit a hopper to the left side that deflected off the glove of the Greyhound third baseman, allowing Taylor to score and Cleary to reach with an infield single.
The score remained 1-0 until the fourth inning when Indianapolis was able to finally get to Gevaart, who started for the second day in a row against the Greyhounds. UIndy put its first two runners on base on a Laker error and a walk, but Gevaart nearly got out of the jam by retiring the next two batters. However, with two outs, catcher Cori Eckerle delivered a towering three-run homer to dead center field to give the Greyhounds a 3-1 advantage.
A double to left field chased Gevaart from the game, finishing her 84-pitch outing. Earlier on Saturday morning against Wayne State, she threw just 69 pitches in six innings of the 3-0 loss to WSU. Indianapolis added three more runs in the top of the fourth frame, as sophomore Sara Andrasik relieved Gevaart in the circle.
UIndy led by a 6-1 score when senior Tonya Calkins drove a Morgan Foley offering down the left field line and over the fence for a solo homer. That was Calkins' first home run of the season and the 14th of her career, making the score 6-2 after four full innings.
The Lakers had a golden scoring opportunity in the bottom of the fifth inning, when GVSU loaded the bases on walks by Brittany Taylor and Briauna Taylor, sandwiched around a bloop single from freshman Kelsey Dominguez. Foley, however, recorded a forceout and an infield popup to keep the bases loaded with two outs. Calkins followed by working a walk and bringing in a run to bring the Lakers closer at 6-3. Foley escaped the jam with a strikeout.
Indianapolis scored a final run in the sixth inning to cap the scoring. Foley earned the victory, moving to 33-7 on the season. She allowed three runs on five hits, while walking six batters and striking out five.
Gevaart took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits, though all of her runs were unearned due to a Laker error. In finishing the season with a 13-4 record, she walked three batters and struck out a pair. Andrasik tossed the final 3.1 innings, giving up six hits and three runs (one earned).
Cleary was the lone Laker with more than one hit, as she went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Calkins drove in a pair of runs, including the solo homer, while Brittany Taylor walked three times. GVSU is now 36-25 all-time in NCAA postseason play.
It was the final game for the five Laker seniors. The class of Calkins, Cleary, Kayla Hurd, and the Taylor twins finished with a four-year record of 162-54, good for a .750 winning percentage. During their careers, the seniors advanced to the NCAA Tournament all four seasons, including a berth in the 2013 Division II College World Series, the second in school history. The Lakers won at least 40 games and hosted the Midwest Regional Tournament in three of the four seasons.
Saturday's contest was also the final career game for head coach Doug Woods. 'Doc' finished his outstanding 24-year career with an overall record of 889-397-3, a remarkable .690 winning percentage since his first season in 1991. He guided the Lakers to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances during his 24 years at the helm of the GVSU program.
